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Arthur T. Pierson 



Arthur T. Pierson 



A Spiritual Warrior, Mighty in the Scriptures ; 
A Leader in the Modern Missionary Crusade 



A Biography by his Son 
DELAVAN LEONARD PIERSON 



ILLUSTRATED 




New York Chicago Toronto 

Fleming H. Revell Company 

London and Edinburgh 



Copyright, 191 2, by 
FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY 



New York: 158 Fifth Avenue 
Chicago: 125 North Wabash Ave. 
Toronto: 25 Richmond Street, W. 
London: 21 Paternoster Square 
Edinburgh: 100 Princes Street 




« € 



©CI.A332043 



To 



MY MOTHER 

whose fifty years of sympathetic com- 
radeship and life of unselfish devotion 
made possible my father } s world-wide 
ministry. Her children and grand- 
children also rise up and call her blessed 



Preface 



A PORTRAIT 

SINCE none can truly know a man but his Maker, 
none can paint a perfect portrait. Each artist 
will be influenced by his own mood and by sym- 
pathy with or antipathy to his subject. The peculiarities, 
the beauties, or the defects that loom large in the eyes 
of one painter will sink into insignificance in the view 
of another. Even a series of portraits drawn at different 
periods and under varying circumstances must fail to 
present a complete likeness. 

Probably no two of those who study this portrait of 
Arthur T. Pierson will agree in their interpretation of 
the man. One will see in his face the beloved pastor, 
another the eloquent preacher and learned teacher, and 
still another the ardent advocate of world-wide missions. 
Some who look will be moved by the memory of a 
loving, faithful friend, others by thoughts of the man 
who led them to the Saviour, and still others by the 
recollections of the Ambassador of Christ who brought 
them into closer fellowship with the Master and who 
inspired them to render more devoted service to their 
King. A few may recall most vividly a rebuke or may 
be unable to overlook some real or fancied defect in 
character or conduct. None can see the whole man, 
but all can see one who fought well and nobly the 
battles within and without — battles for purity, truth 
and the supremacy of the will of God. 

7 



8 



Preface 



At one time my father planned to write his own 
biography — to paint his own portrait — for he longed to 
make known, as he alone could, God's gracious dealings 
with him and the marvellous way in which he had been 
led. But before he had even sketched the rough out- 
lines he was called home to the land where he knows 
as he is known. 

It has been a difficult and delicate task for a son to 
portray the character and life of his honoured and be- 
loved father. And yet a son's picture may be the 
truest ; certainly it is sketched from sympathetic knowl- 
edge, as every interpretive likeness should be. 

In this life portrait I have sought to give a true 
picture of the man and of his ideals and to sketch some 
of the most important scenes from his world ministry. 
The glimpses of my father's inner soul may perhaps 
seem too intimate, for they are taken from his private 
prayer diary that was intended for God's eye alone, but 
these glimpses are necessary to unveil the man as he was 
when in the presence of his Maker. It was in these hours 
of devotion that he developed likeness to his Lord. 

Although it was my privilege for the last twenty 
years to be my father's intimate companion and co- 
worker, this study of his life, his conflicts and minis- 
tries in private and in public, has brought a fuller 
revelation of the man and his mission. Such an uplift 
has resulted that I hope and pray that even the partial 
view here given may bring a like blessing to others. 

The joy of the work has been doubled and the diffi- 
culties vastly decreased by the constant and efficient 
help of my beloved wife. She has been at once my 
severest critic and my most appreciative and sympa- 
thetic co-worker. The mutual love that existed between 



Preface 



9 



her and my father also made her cooperation doubly 
appropriate and effective. To my friend, Eev. William 
J. Hutchins, for his most helpful literary criticism of 
the manuscript, and to others who have contributed 
bits of local colour to make this portrait and its back- 
ground more perfect, I acknowledge my debt with 
heartfelt gratitude. 

Delavan L. Piekson. 

Brooklyn, New York, 

My, 1912, 



Contents 

The March of Events 
Looking Backward — A Race of Warriors 

Abraham Pierson, the First — Caleb Wheeler and New- 
ark in 1666 — Birth of Arthur T. Pierson in 1837 — 
A Lost Boy — First Day in Sunday-school — Early 
Poems and Sermons — Wilson Phraner and Mount 
Washington Institute — Boyhood Temptations. 

Boarding-school Days — Enlisting for Life 

1 850- 1 85 3 — Leaving Home at Thirteen — Conversion 
at Tarrytown — School Life at Ossining —The Young 
Editor and Publisher — Early Essays — -Prize Temper- 
ance Oration — Business Experience in New York — 
A Charter Member of the Y. M. C. A. 

At Hamilton College — In Training for 
Service 

1853— 1857 — A First Stand — Humour of the Entrance 
Examinations — Necessity for Economy and Industry 
— Freshman Experiences — Personal Appearance — 
College Sports — Secret Societies — Hazing — Social 
and Religious Life — Literary Honours — Poetry — 
President North's Tribute. 

In the Theological Seminary — Studying 
Technique ...... 

1857-1860 — Union Theological Seminary — Famous 
Professors — The " Annus Mirabilis " in Missions — 
The Revival of 1857 — A Lesson in Giving — In- 
fluence of Wendell Phillips — Beginning to Preach — 
Experience at West Winsted — Ordination. 

First Charge at Binghamton — Testing 
His Weapons ...... 

1856-1863 — Marriage to Miss Benedict — Installation 
at Binghamton — Key-note to Preaching — Rules for 
Reading— Ministerial Ideals — Infidel Attacks — 
Questions to Church-members — Shots that Struck 
Home — Spiritualism — Financial Straits — Lessons 
Learned — Resignation. 



1 2 Contents 

VI. The Waterford Pastorate — A Broader 

Vision 9 1 

1 863- 1 869— The Call to Waterford— Mr. Pierson's 
Peculiarities — Missionary Interest — A Revival in 
Church and Sunday-school — Rebuilding — First Visit 
to Europe — Charles H. Spurgeon — Fund of Humour 
—Call to Detroit. 

VII. At Fort Street Church, Detroit — A 

Strategic Centre .... 106 

1 869- 1 876— Program for Work— A Visitor's Im- 
pression — Rules for Preaching — The Prayer-meeting 
— Missionary Interest — Bible Classes and Daily 
Study— Ministry in City and State— The Great 
Michigan Fires— Methods in Pastoral Work — A 
Stranger Converted— A Rich Man Offended— 
Family Life — An Escape from Drowning. 

VIII. From Church to Opera House — A 

Change of Tactics . . . .127 

1876-1882— Whittle and Bliss— Stirrings of the Spirit 
— The Burning of the Church — Opera House 
Services — Plans for a New Church — Reaching Out 
for the Masses — An Infidel Converted — George 
Miiller's Influence — A Change of Field. 



IX. A Year in Indianapolis — Victory or 

Defeat ? 148 

1 882- 1 883— The Pastoral Committee— Conditions of 
Acceptance — Leaving Detroit — Difficulties En- 
countered — Dr. Henry C. Mabie — Friction and 
Resignation — The Tabernacle Movement — A Crit- 
ical Period — Healing a Breach — Lessons Learned 
—The Call to Philadelphia. 



The Philadelphia Pastorate — The Field 
and the Force ..... 165 

1 883- 1 889 — Bethany Church and Sunday-school — 
John Wanamaker — Problems to be Solved — 
Teachers' Meetings — The Lay College — The Evan- 
gelistic Band — An Ideal Installation Charge — 
Church Standards — Paying Off the Mortgage — 
Private Prayer Life. 



Contents 



13 



XI. Conference and Missionary Work — A 

World-wide Campaign . . .185 

1884-1889— The Prophetical Bible Conference— The 
Second Coming — Influence on Men — D. L. Moody 
and Northfield — Mount Hermon and the Student 
Volunteers — Editor of the Missionary Review — The 
London Missionary Conference — Resignation from 
Bethany. 

XII. Scotland and the Continent — Mission- 

ary Crusades 210 

1 889- 1 89 1 — Visitation of the Scotch Churches — Quo- 
tations from Missionary Addresses — Pilgrimages to 
Famous Homes — Meetings in London — Preaching 
for Charles H. Spurgeon — Visit to the McAll 
Mission — An Amusing Experience in Naples — Re- 
sults of the Tour. 

XIII. At Spurgeon's Tabernacle — Two Years 

as a Substitute . . . . 226 

189 1- 1 893 — A Remarkable Chain of Circumstances 
—The Call to London— The First Service— A 
Visitor's Description — Methods of Sermon Prepara- 
tion — Notes on Preaching — The Death of Spurgeon 
— Results of His Ministry — A Difficult Situation — 
Thomas Spurgeon — A Second Year at the Taber- 
nacle — Newspaper Critics — An Officer's Tribute. 

XIV. Immersion and Its Consequences — A 

Battle of Conscience .... 252 

1 893- 1 896 — The Debated Question — Reasons Against 
Rebaptism — Letter to the Presbytery — Death of 
A. J. Gordon — Return to Great Britain — Immersion 
at Croydon — Attacks of the Press — Answer — Mis- 
sion in Ireland — Dropped from the Presbyterian 
Church — Again at the Metropolitan Tabernacle. 

XV. Later British Ministries — Spiritual Re- 

inforcement . . . . . 272 

1897-1909 — Views on Health and Divine Healing — 
The Life of George Muller — Experiences in Bristol 
— Answers to Prayer — Habits of Giving — Exeter 
Hall Lectures — Methods of Bible Study — Keswick 
Teaching — Experiences at Keswick — A Remark- 
able Meeting — Letters to His Children — Brighton 
Ministries. 



3 4 Contents 

XVI. Later American Ministries — Recruit- 
ing In Various Camps .... 299 

1 897- 1 909 — An Unsettled Preacher — Providential 
Deliverences — In Conventions Oft — Preaching En- 
gagements — The Parliament of Religions — North- 
field Conferences — With Mount Hermon Students — 
Recreation Days — Among Neighbours — Influence 
on His Children. 



XVII. The Jubilee Year — A Visit to the 

Frontier 313 

1910-1911 — Anniversary of Ordination — An Oppor- 
tunity for Testimony — Golden Wedding Celebra- 
tion — Reunions — A Visit to the Mission Fields — A 
Crowning Joy — Return to America — Final Home- 
Going — Unique Funeral Service — Resting Place in 
Greenwood — A Message in Stone. 



Illustrations 



Portrait of Dr. Pierson at Seventy . Frontispiece 

The Pierson Coat of Arms ..... page 6 

Arthur T. Pierson's Motto and Emblem . . . " .10* 

Stephen H. Pierson and Wife . . Facing page 24^ 

A page from " The Ossining Gazette " . . " " 36 ^ 

Arthur Pierson at Seventeen . . " " 40^ 

Hamilton College in 1854 • " " 4^ 

Union Seminary, New York, in 1857 . " " 6z y 

Arthur T. Pierson in the Bingham ton Pastorate " " 74 

Sarah Frances Benedict at Time of Her Marriage " " 74 

The Congregational Church at Binghamton . " " 90 ' 

The Presbyterian Church at Waterford . . " " 90/ 

Arthur T, Pierson at Forty (1878) . .-«««.« 130* 

The Fort Street Presbyterian Church, Detroit " " 148 

The Second Presbyterian Church, Indianapolis . " " 148* 

Bethany Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia " " 166^ 

Interior of the Famous Bethany Sunday-School " " i66 [/ 

Spurgeon's Metropolitan Tabernacle, London . " " 226^ 

The Speaker's View of the Audience Room . " " 226" 

Dr. and Mrs. Pierson at Bible Study . . " " 252 

Bible Study Chart Used at Exeter Hall . . . page 283 ^ 

15 



16 Illustrations 

Pages from Dr. Pierson's Annotated Bible . Facing page 286 

A View of Keswick and Derwentwater from 

Skiddaw « * 



292 X 



Dr. Pierson Speaking in the Keswick Tent . " " 292 

The Believer's Bank Note ..... page 298 

View of the Northlield Home from the Study- 
on the Hill ...... Facing page 310^ 

Off Duty at Northfield — Dr. Pierson and 

His Grandson . . . . . " " 310' 

The Home in Brooklyn, New York . . " « 328^ 

A Message in Stone . . • . . " " 332^ 



I 



LOOKING BACKWAED — A EACE OF WAEEIOES 

AKTHUE T. PIEESOIST was a warrior, and 
came of a race of warriors. A few of his 
ancestors won renown upon fields of battle 
where the weapons were of steel, where the strength 
and skill required were those of nerve and muscle, 
where the foes were of flesh and blood and the rewards 
were temporal power and authority. But the major- 
ity of his forebears, and he, himself, were engaged in 
a different contest. They were trained, not in the mili- 
tary schools of the state, but of the Church. Their 
book of tactics was the Bible, their officers were men 
chosen and appointed by the almighty Commander-in- 
chief, their battles were for truth and true living, and 
their campaign was for the conquest of the world. 
Moral courage was counted of greater worth than 
physical bravery ; the weapons of mind and spirit were 
more highly esteemed than those forged in earthly ar- 
senals; the foes against which they contended were 
principalities and powers in spirit realms, their victories 
were over the enemies of character, of humanity and 
of God. These were battles worth waging. There 
have been tactical mistakes and temporary defeats ; at 
times the forces have been divided; the great Com- 
mander's orders have been mistaken or disobeyed, but 
there have also been notable victories, the progress of 
the campaign has been steady and the final success is 
assured. 

17 



i8 



Looking Backward 



Arthur Tappan Pierson never prided himself on being 
a self-made man. He rather rejoiced in the conviction 
that every man's life is a plan of God. As he looked 
back in later years he saw in his ancestry and birth, in 
his early home and training, in his temptations and 
trials, in his opportunities and successes, the working 
out of the plans and purposes of his Creator. After his 
conversion, when he deliberately chose to follow Jesus 
Christ as his Lord and Saviour, the boy and then the 
man sought to discover and to obey the directions of 
his Sovereign. 

It was not by accident that the man who was to 
enter upon a world-wide ministry traced his ancestry 
to a Church of England clergyman, that his conver- 
sion was in a Methodist revival and class-meeting, his 
theological training in a Presbyterian seminary, his 
first pastorate in a Congregational Church, and his 
largest field in a Baptist tabernacle ; that he learned 
some of his deepest lessons among the Brethren in 
Bristol, England, and that he closed his career con- 
nected with no human organization, — a subject only of 
the universal Church and Kingdom of God. 

In semi-humorous vein Dr. Pierson wrote a few years 
before his death : " It is amazing that Anglicans wel- 
come me — a renegade Presbyterio-Baptist-Brethren 
compound, belonging to nobody but the Lord." 

The Pierson ancestry was a godly one and gave 
promise of a goodly fruitage. The first of the American 
line was Abraham Pierson of sturdy Yorkshire stock 
who, although in the way of special preferment from 
the Crown, left his parish in Newark-on-the-Trent at 
the call of God. Like Father Abraham the first, he 
went forth not knowing whither he went, irresistibly 



Abraham Pierson, the First 



'9 



driven by a desire to find a home where he could wor- 
ship God according to his newly-acquired Puritan ideals. 
Although two centuries intervened between the life 
of this pioneer and that of his descendant, Arthur T. 
Pierson, the latter was in some ways a most striking 
replica of his forefather — the brilliant orator of Trinity 
College, Cambridge, the intrepid pioneer, the independ- 
ent non-conformist preacher, the autocratic ruler of the 
infant settlement, and the zealous missionary to the 
savage Indians. 

Abraham Pierson and his two brothers, Henry and 
Thomas, landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1639, 
and for forty years he was the spiritual as well as the civil 
leader of a consecrated band of colonists, who founded 
successively the towns of Southampton, Long Island ; 
Branford, Connecticut ; and Newark, New Jersey. 
Everywhere he went this Abraham followed the exam- 
ple of the Hebrew patriarch in first erecting an altar 
for the worship of God. He was a strong character, a 
leader with authority in Church and state, and united 
in himself the offices of pioneer and patriarch. He 
conscientiously held that no one who was not a church- 
member in good standing should vote or hold office in 
the body politic. This position was not popular with 
all, and twice for the sake of conscience and for the 
sake of peace, ""Abraham Pierson, with such of his fol- 
lowing as were like minded, removed to new fields and 
reestablished their homes and altars and church. All 
this meant much hardship and privation, but the beloved 
shepherd suffered with his flock, and while they recog- 
nized in him a man of unyielding principles and a strict 
disciplinarian, they loved and revered him for his sym- 
pathy, his uprightness and his genuine piety. 



20 



Looking Backward 



Abraham Pierson's eighteen years of pastorate in 
Branford, Connecticut, brought him into close contact 
with the Mohegan and Mohican Indians, and the mis- 
sionary fire which two centuries later burned so brightly 
in the soul of his descendant was kindled in the old 
Puritan as he saw the ignorance and savagery of his 
Red neighbours. About this time occurred the awful 
massacre by the Indians of Anne Hutchinson and her 
thirteen defenseless children. The tragedy came very 
close to the Pierson home, as Anne was a relative of 
the wife of Abraham. He proceeded to " heap coals of 
fire on their heads " by setting himself to learn their 
language, as he said, " that he might inform the Indians 
concerning the things of their peace." He preached to 
them in their own tongue and acted as an inter- 
preter and mediator between them and the civil 
authorities. Thus Pierson was the friend and spiritual 
adviser of the Indians of Connecticut as John Eliot 
and Mayhew were of the Indians of Massachusetts. 
A quaint catechism, which he wrote for their guid- 
ance, is still in existence. 

The first church of Newark, "New Jersey, founded in 
1666 (now Presbyterian), had Abraham Pierson " to 
its father." He builded so wisely and so well that the 
organization is still standing, and among the present 
officers are some of the descendants of its first mem- 
bers. One of the few remaining documents of the old 
preacher is a sort of will wherein he asserts that he is 
"persuaded of the everlasting welfare of his soul's 
estate and his body's resurrection to eternal life by Jesus 
Christ, his dear and Precious Redeemer." He died in 
1678 at the age of sixty-five, and was succeeded in his 
pastorate for a few years by his son, Abraham, the second. 



The Founders of Yale and Princeton 



21 



In those primitive days a library of 440 volumes, such 
as Father Abraham Pierson possessed, was significant 
of a man's love of study and research. He placed 
great value on education and we find his son, Abra- 
ham, and grandson, John, taking prominent parts in 
founding two great American universities. 

Twenty-three years after his father's death, Abraham 
Pierson second, with four other ministers of southern 
Connecticut, presented a petition to the General As- 
sembly to draft a charter for a college and engaged to 
give books from their scanty libraries as a nucleus of 
the college property. Abraham Pierson was chosen 
president or " Hector," and he accepted in the following 
words : " I durst not refuse such a service for God and 
my generation, but submit myself to take the charge 
and work of Rector upon me." This " Collegiate School 
of Connecticut" is now Yale University, with thou- 
sands of graduates who have loyally responded to the 
calls of Church and state. 

John Pierson, another descendant of Abraham the 
first, held a pastorate in Woodbridge, New Jersey, and 
when in 1746 the College of New Jersey (now Prince- 
ton University) received its first charter his name stood 
next to Dickinson in the list of trustees. £Thus the 
Piersons had a hand in moulding the educational life of 
the American colony and gave evidence of the genius 
for study which, eight generations later, showed itself 
in Arthur T. Pierson, as a legacy transmitted from the 
long past. 

By a singular coincidence we find among those who 
came with Abraham Pierson from Branford to New- 
ark, — a Pilgrim son named Caleb Wheeler, a man of 
rugged piety, of splendid physique and of comparative 



22 



Looking Backward 



wealth. Over one hundred and fifty years later two 
descendants of those two devout settlers, Sally Ann 
Wheeler and Stephen Haines Pierson, met and were 
married in the city of Newark. From this union of 
God-fearing parents came Arthur Tappan Pierson, spir- 
itual warrior and a leader in the modern missionary 
crusade. 

The time and place of Arthur Pierson's birth were 
themselves significant. The event occurred on March 
6, 1837, in Chatham Street, New York (now Park Kow), 
in apartments over an arched passage which led to the 
old Chatham Garden Theatre. Here many famous 
actors and actresses had entertained New York audi- 
ences, but the theatre had been renovated and leased 
for a chapel by the two well-known philanthropists and 
antislavery leaders, — Lewis and Arthur Tappan. The 
famous evangelist Charles G. Finney became the first 
pastor of this Presbyterian church and here he held the 
remarkable revival services which so mightily moved 
New York, and which also greatly influenced the 
minds and hearts of the young father and mother of 
the coming child. The chapel was a centre of anti- 
slavery agitation, and here were enacted real dramas 
more thrilling than any ever produced on the stage 
during its playhouse days. 

These were stirring times in New York. The great 
eighteen million dollar fire of 1835 had been followed 
by the financial panic of 183T, when every bank in New 
York suspended and when business failures amounted to 
one hundred million dollars in that city alone. Among 
the hundreds of prosperous firms forced to make assign- 
ment was the well-known wholesale silk house of 
Arthur Tappan. Poverty stared in the face both the 



New York in 1837 



2 3 



employer and his cashier and confidential clerk, Stephen 
Haines Pierson. Arthur Tappan himself was the soul 
of honour and though his income had been $100,000 
a year, he sold all that he had, even to his watch, 
to satisfy his creditors and afterwards entered the 
employ of the firm of which for many years he had 
been the head. The price of food climbed abnormally 
high with coal $10.00 a ton and flour $20.00 a barrel. 
One month before the birth of Stephen Pierson's 
youngest son, Arthur, an angry and starving mob 
gathered in the City Hall Park within sight of the 
little home and there organized for plunder. Ware- 
rooms were entered and hundred of barrels of flour 
were thrown from the lofts by these desperate men. 

The whole country was staggering under the finan- 
cial policy of President Jackson which had awakened 
deep distrust, but the day of March 6th brought with 
it a gleam of hope when a new executive, Martin 
Van Buren, took the oath of office ; it brought also a 
new influx of love and joy to the home of Stephen and 
Sally Pierson, as they held in their arms their little 
son — a gift of God to them and to the world. In this 
same year were born three others with whom in later 



D wight L. Moody of Northfield, John "Wanamaker of 
Philadelphia, and James Archer Spurgeon of London. 

This year ushered in an important period in the his- 
tory of the world. The youthful Queen Yictoria then 
ascended the British throne ; the mission fields began 
to be explored as never before and several foreign mis- 
sionary societies were founded. The Great Western 
crossed the Atlantic in 1838 and at about the same 
time Morse completed his telegraph. God was prepar- 



life this newcomer 




24 



Looking Backward 



ing the world and the Church, His physical forces and 
His messengers, for a great advance. 

The ancestry, the time, and the contemporaries of 
young Arthur were in the plan of God. The same is 
true of his home and his parents. Stephen Haines 
Pierson, the father, is described by those who knew 
him as a highly respected godly man of staunch prin- 
ciples and quiet manner. Though he was without 
remarkable gifts, he moved for forty years among the 
business men of New York City and faithfully per- 
formed his duties as a Christian citizen. He was a 
careful and capable accountant, a strict and conscien- 
tious father and an elder in the Presbyterian church. 
His trust in God and his faith in the Bible was im- 
pressed upon his children. The great-hearted mer- 
chant, Arthur Tappan, exerted a marked influence on 
his life, and as he shared his employer's fortunes and 
misfortunes, so also he sympathized with his high stand- 
ards of honour and his hatred of slavery. With loaded 
musket he stood guard when the Tappan store was at- 
tacked by opponents of the brave abolitionist, and 
when the financial crash came, Stephen Pierson, with 
his employer, was obliged to curtail his expenses to 
meet his depleted income. 

The mother, Sally Ann Pierson, was an " elect lady," 
born in Newark, New Jersey, on February 2, 1802. 
She was one of a family of fourteen children of Joseph 
Lyon and Phoebe Jones Wheeler. Although her own 
family numbered twelve or more, she still found time to 
entertain many friends, to engage in church and other 
charitable work and to look after the affairs of her 
household. She was a woman of indomitable energy 
and a warm heart, an unusually bright conversationalist 



THE PARENTS OF ARTHUR T. PIERSON 
Sally Ann Wheeler Pierson and Stephen Haines Pierson 
From a daguerreotype taken soon after the birth of their son, Arthur 



The Family Circle 



25 



and of a hopeful, cheerful disposition — otherwise even 
her strong physique would never have stood the strain 
of hard work that fell to her lot. Many of her gifts 
and graces reappeared in her youngest son. 

Arthur was the youngest of four boys and the ninth 
child in a family of ten. He experienced in early life 
some of the advantages and disadvantages in a home 
where the wolf was never far from the door, and where 
the demands of many brothers and sisters left little 
opportunity for selfish individualism. Activities in the 
home and church did not give the parents much time 
to cultivate the aesthetic in the manners of their chil- 
dren, but the weightier matters of their soul training 
were diligently looked after. The children were taught 
the catechism and Scripture verses, and the family altar, 
morning and evening, brought blessing to children's 
children unto the third generation. 

While Arthur was still a babe his parents moved to 
13 Eenwick Street, the new " up-town " settlement near 
the Hudson Eiver above Canal Street. Soon the boy was 
sent to a near-by private school, and is still remembered 
by some of his schoolmates as an active, talkative lad, 
always busy and full of life. In those days, asW these, 
the passing fire engine was an irresistible attraction 
and boys followed it through the crooked down-town 
streets with all the pleasure of a chase. Arthur even 
at the early age of four was interested in the passing 
engines and one day when he had followed the crowd he 
was lost in the maze of the city streets. His parents 
searched for him far and near, with aching hearts and 
visions of a little body floating somewhere in the river. 
But this was far from God's purpose for the lad. 
Towards sunset the father and mother of a little play- 



26 



Looking Backward 



mate found him near the City Hall Square with one 
shoe and one stocking gone, vainly trying to satisfy 
himself with some bread and molasses which the kindly 
matron of the almshouse had given him. The memory 
of this experience remained vividly with him to his dy- 
ing day as a warning against allowing the allurements 
of this world to entice him away from his heavenly 
Father's sheltering arms. 

The earliest religious impressions of the young boy, 
outside his home, were associated with the old Spring 
Street Church, where Dr. William M. Patton was pastor, 
and which was famous as an antislavery centre. On 
the first Sunday morning in May, 1843, when Arthur 
was six years old, he was taken by his sister Annie to 
Sunday-school. After church his mother met the 
superintendent, a young theological student, Wilson 
Phraner, and asked : 

" Did my boy Arthur join your school to-day ? " 

" Yes," replied Mr. Phraner, " and I put him in the 
infant class in charge of Miss Connors." 

With an intensely earnest expression on her face the 
mother said : "Be sure you make a Christian of him. 
I want all of my children to be Christians and to grow 
up to lead honourable, useful lives." 

Those were the days when Christian parents gave 
first place to the religious training of their children ; 
when nothing was permitted to interfere with church 
duties, and when non-churchgoing habits had not 
emptied the pews nor set evil examples to the youth. 
There were Sunday-school sessions both morning and 
afternoon, and it was never a debatable question whether 
Arthur should go. He attended both sessions and 
the church service as well. Nearly sixty years later 



Early Religious Education 



27 



this boy, grown to be an honoured preacher, wrote to 
the pastor, Koswell Bates : 

" I attribute to Dr. Patton and the few years I at- 
tended the Spring Street Church the convictions that 
have remained with me to the present hour as to 
the inspiration of the Scriptures, the deity of Christ 
and regeneration by the Spirit of God. We had occa- 
sional revival services and these were always fruitful in 
conversions. Here also I received my first interest in 
missions. In the Sunday-school I was taught by two 
young women — one of whom was a missionary vol- 
unteer about to sail for a distant field." 

The boy made an impression on his teachers, his 
superintendent, and his pastor as a "youthful fact" 
that might later become a factor in shaping the world's 
history. "When he was only seven years of age he joined 
the junior Mission Band and was always ready to say or 
do anything that might be required of him. He used to 
remark in later years that one of his great dangers was 
" an over-confidence in his own sagacity and capacity." 

The boy's thoughts were early turned towards the 
ministry and one of his favourite pastimes was preach- 
ing to his sisters or to a row of empty chairs — the 
latter proving to be the more quiet audience. He also 
began to write essays and verses, many of which are 
still preserved. His first attempt at poetry was written 
in 1846 at the age of nine and shows even then the 
character of his early religious training which meant 
so much to him. The verse reads : 

u I don't care, I will bear — 
Ever in my heart will bear — 
Blessed Jesus, died to save us, 
On the cursed Cross He died." 



28 



Looking Backward 



He recollected that as a boy he had a fiery temper 
and was led to excuse outbursts of anger on the theory 
that it was ingrain, like the grain in wood. He says : 
" I was told that I might plane and polish it but the 
disposition would remain. All I could hope for was 
that it might be mollified. I bless God that I have 
learned that if we let God have the stronghold, the 
devil must give up control." 

One of the factors that counted most in Arthur's ed- 
ucation was the character of the teachers under whose 
instruction he was placed. From first to last they 
were Christians and emphasized the necessity for moral 
and spiritual as well as intellectual development. In 
1848, at the age of eleven, he entered the Mount 
"Washington Collegiate Institute, facing Washington 
Square, and there came under the influence of the 
principal, George W. Clarke, an earnest Christian man, 
later very active in state politics and charitable work. 

Wilson Phraner was here the teacher of Greek and 
Latin and under his careful tutelage were laid the 
foundations of classical learning that proved so useful 
in later years. At twelve Arthur began to read the 
New Testament in Greek, and for the next sixty-two 
years he kept it up with increasing enjoyment and 
profit. 

Dr. Phraner, his beloved teacher who still happily 
survives at the age of ninety, says that Arthur was 
" studious in his habits, quick to learn, and remarkably 
intelligent and ambitious to win the approbation of his 
teachers." 

Among the prominent citizens who were educated in 
Dr. Clarke's school and who, like Arthur, there learned 
lessons in the things worth while, for time and eternity, 



Boyhood Temptations 



2 9 



were the millionaire philanthropist, William Earle 
Dodge ; the merchant prince, Morris K. Jesup, William 
Walter Phelps, George D. Baker, James Talcott, H. O. 
Havemeyer, the sugar king, and Koscoe Conklin, the 
United States senator. When, a few years ago, the 
students gathered to honour the old principal on his 
ninetieth birthday, they reminded him that he had never 
spared the rod, but he replied with deep feeling : " No 
horticulturist ever watched with more pleasure the 
budding and blooming of his flowers than did I the 
mental and the moral growth of my students." 

Temptations were present in Arthur's young life as in 
the experience of other boys. He used to tell with a 
touch of humour how he was once induced to try smoking 
a pipe, but he added with a note of thanksgiving that 
the God-given warning of a gastric revolt took away all 
desire to make any second attempt. The city streets 
were full of vice and traps, and he was full of life and 
curiosity and self-confidence. Companions were ever 
ready to lead him into forbidden paths. Worse than 
this many summers were spent away from his family 
in the country where, all unknown to his parents, he 
found a veritable Sodom. It was, as he said, only the 
prayers of his father and mother, their example and 
early training and the overshadowing mercy of God 
that prevented ] his young life from being blighted. 
Such experiences led the man in later years to em- 
phasize, with burning earnestness, the duty of parents 
to safeguard the early moral and religious surroundings 
and habits of their children. 



n 



BOARDING-SCHOOL DAYS— ENLISTING 

FOR LIFE 



T thirteen years of age Arthur left home, never 



again to return for any length of time. His 



JL JL parents noted their boy's talents and tendencies 
and took the advice of his instructors to give him every 
opportunity to stir up the gift that was in him. They 
determined to follow the Scriptural injunction to 
" train up a child in his way," — according to his own 
God-given bent — and at no little sacrifice to themselves 
they sent their son to attend the Collegiate Institute at 
Tarrytown-on-the-Hudson. 

^Before his departure his father gave him as a life 
motto the injunction and promise from Proverbs hi. 6 — 
" Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not 
unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways ac- 
knowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths." Sixty 
years later the son said : " Since my father gave me 
that motto, no important step has been taken in my life 
without looking to God for His guidance and never 
have I looked in vain. I have learned that if His 
guidance does not come at once, it is safer to wait until 
He sees fit to show the way. After all it is His work, 
His time, His way that are of consequence. A step 
taken too soon will be pretty sure to be a misstep." 

Stephen H. Pierson was not a man of many words 
and was not given to parental lectures, but his life was 
clean and upright and his words carried weight. 




Leaving Home 



31 



Another bit of advice he gave to his son as he sent him 
from home with his blessing and prayers : " My son, 
you are going among strangers and will find some who 
think it a clever thing to call in question your faith 
and your father's faith and teachings. Whatever else 
you think or do, stand true to God and always give 
Him the advantage of your doubt." 

Thus fortified, with bright prospects before him, 
Arthur set out for school in the autumn of 1850. 
Homesickness and loneliness are evident in his letters 
as his thoughts turned lovingly to his parents with a 
new sense of his own shortcomings, and with a new 
tenderness. He wrote several little poems dedicated 
to his father, his mother and his sisters, in which he 
asked pardon for hasty words and recalled acts of 
loving thoughtfulness by members of the family. 

Arthur's parents had not chosen the school hastily 
or with reference merely to intellectual and worldly 
advancement. The instructors were Christian and the 
principal made it his aim to help every boy to find in 
Jesus Christ his friend and Saviour and then to stand 
by him in every trial. 



Although Arthur had attended church and Sunday- 
school since the age of six, and all his training and most of 
the influences that surrounded him had been Christian, 
he had never yet deliberately surrendered his heart to 
Christ. At Tarry town there came the crisis that comes 
to so many boys when they first leave home, an expe- 
rience which tested his earnestness and his courage. 
He came face to face with the question, " Shall I seek 
great things for myself in my own way, or shall I give 
my life to God and surrender to the claims of Jesus 




Christ ? " 



32 



Boarding-School Days 



During the one year of Arthur's stay in Tarry town, 
a series of special revival meetings were held in the 
Methodist church, and the earnest but quiet message 
of the evangelist made a deep impression on him. 
What followed is given in his own words : 

" One night I was much moved to seek my salvation. 
When the invitation was given I asked for the prayers 
of God's people and decided to make a start in serving 
God by accepting Jesus as my Saviour. On my way 
back to the school I was forced to ask myself : How 
am I to act as a Christian before the other boys ? We 
all slept in large rooms with five or six beds and with 
two boys in each bed. As I went up to the ward 
where I slept I felt that now or never I must show 
my colours. If my life were to count, I must give some 
testimony before my schoolmates. 

" The boys were not yet in bed and as some others 
had attended the meeting, the word had preceded me, 
* Pierson is converted.' The boys were waiting to 
see what I would do. There was not one other Chris- 
tian in the ward and my own bedfellow was perhaps 
the most careless, trifling and vicious boy in the school. 
My first hour of testing had come ; much depended on 
how I would meet it. 

" As I undressed for bed, I asked God for courage and 
then when ready to turn in, knelt down beside the 
bed and silently prayed. The boys were quiet for a 
moment, then a few began to chuckle, and presently a 
pillow came flying at my head. I paid no attention to 
it, though praying was not easy just then — if by prayer 
is meant consecutive, orderly speaking to God. 

" My schoolmates were not malicious but only bent on 
' fun,' and when they saw that I did not move, their 



Conversion at Tarrytown 



33 



sense of fair play asserted itself. One of the older boys 
said : * Let him alone,' and silently they all picked up 
their pillows and got into bed. I was never again 
disturbed when praying before my fellows." 

The initial victory was won and it was the man's 
conviction in later years that this was a turning point 
in his boy life. He found that an apparently heavy 
cross when taken up with the help of God proves light 
and easily borne. From that time, whatever other 
faults he may have had, no one could justly accuse 
Arthur T. Pierson of a lack of moral courage. 

His next step was to join the probationers' class-meet- 
ing at the Methodist church and when he left the 
school he took with him a certificate, dated March 20, 
1850, and signed by Charles C. Kuntz, "Station 
Preacher." 

" This is to certify that Master Arthur T. Pierson 
has been an acceptable probationer for about six weeks 
in the Methodist Episcopal Church of Tarrytown." 

Two years later, on March 14, 1852, he joined the 
Thirteenth Street Presbyterian Church, New York, in 
which his father was an elder. 

Immediately after his conversion, Arthur began to 
take his share in Christian work either by testimony in 
the boys' prayer-meetings or by leadership in the 
junior society. Several of his carefully prepared talks 
show thought and study quite beyond the ordinary boy 
of thirteen. One is on a subject that exerted such 
great influence on his after life — "Faith in God? 
The text was taken from Psalm Ixii. 8, " Trust in Him 
at all times." Several of his sermons or talks are pre- 
served written in a neat boyish hand. The manuscripts 



34 



Boarding-School Days 



are bound and have the titles elaborately penned in 
shaded letters on the cover. 

The next autumn, Arthur was transferred to the 
Ossining School, at Sing Sing, New York, which was 
taught by his brother-in-law, Rev. J. P. Lundy. Here 
he could be under the care of his eldest sister, Annie, 
while he continued his classical and religious training. 
In the course of long walks in the country, the boy 
also acquired a taste for botany and mineralogy. Many 
times he was subjected to the bantering of his brothers 
and cousins on account of the pockets full of stones that 
he insisted on carrying around with him as specimens. 
This interest he never lost and in later years he wrote 
and lectured much on natural science. The subject 
also opened up a rich mine from which he took a wealth 
of illustrative material for future sermons. 

The Ossining School aimed at the education of the 
whole boy. Especial attention was given to literary 
training and public speaking. By definite, practical 
oversight and criticism the teachers cultivated in the 
pupils a taste for good books and clear, forceful expres- 
sion of ideas. The boys were obliged to memorize and 
recite difficult passages from famous orations so that 
they could enunciate clearly every consonant and vowel. 
In this way they learned to have full control over 
tongue and palate, lips and teeth, until nothing was too 
difficult for their vocal gymnastics. Particular stress 
was also laid on truth, morality and industry. These 
were deemed even more important than overcrowded 
memories and forced intellectual growth. 

Only a limited number of boys were admitted to this 
school so that each might receive individual attention. 
The catalogue announced that the aim of the school was 



Experiences at Ossining 



3? 



to " imbue the pupils with an admiration for virtue, and 
a high purpose" to live brave, noble, useful lives, to become 
worthy patriots, dear to God and famous to all ages. 
The Bible, as the best of all classics, is a prominent text- 
book and each boy is required to read it daily and to 
study some portion of it each Sabbath. They are also 
encouraged to pray habitually and to live in the con- 
sciousness that there is a world beyond this for which 
the present life is but a school." 

At Ossining Arthur was a wide-awake lad and en- 
tered heartily into the school life. He made many 
friends and some of his early poems — falsely so called 
— were written at this time to boys and girls whom he 
loved. The poetry was not such as would make the 
boy famous, but the training in expression, in rhythm 
and in the use of synonyms was of real value. Some 
of the verses also show deep religious feeling and a de- 
sire to lead others to know his Lord. 

The " literary remains " of this period include whole 
volumes of poems, plays written for the school, essays 
on many subjects, serious and humorous stories, and one 
novelette, entitled " The Baron's Will, or The Wonder- 
ful Inscription." Arthur was a frequent speaker on 
the school platform and graced many public occasions 
with prologues, monologues and epilogues. It became 
his ambition to excel in literary style and in public 
speaking and for a time this aim eclipsed all others. 
His first editorial experience was gained on the staff of 
the school paper, The Ossining Gazette, of which he 
was one of the editors. He was also publisher and 
printer, for he wrote out the four pages by hand for 
each subscriber! The Gazette was published every 
Wednesday and was declared on its title page to be 



36 



Boarding-School Days 



" devoted to Literature, Science and the productions of 
Genius " — there is no doubt about the genius. When 
Arthur left the school in the winter of 1853 The Gazette 
died a natural death from insufficient nutrition and from 
lack of circulation. 

The youthful author and student was in danger of 
being spoiled by overmuch praise and it is not surprising 
that he developed some conceit and a superabundance 
of self-confidence. Nothing was too difficult or too 
delicate for him to undertake, but he was in earnest 
and apparently wasted no time. That he was conscious 
of some of his faults is seen in the fact that in a farce 
which he wrote for a school entertainment he gave 
himself the character of " Samuel Valorous — A Great 
Bragg." But the faults were superficial, the real gold 
was underneath and often appeared on the surface. 
Many of the qualities which manifested themselves dur- 
ing those school days were such as marked his work in 
mature life — fine penmanship, originality, accuracy, 
painstaking research, earnestness of purpose and high 
moral tone. 

Arthur's ambition received fresh impetus at about 
this time. In the spring of 1852 a prize was offered 
by Dr. P. A. Skinner, of Philadelphia, to the youth 
of what is now Greater JSTew York, for the best 
essay on the subject: "How Shall the Kising Gen- 
eration Protect Themselves Against the Daily Increas- 
ing and Destructive Influence of Alcoholic Drinks." 
Over five hundred and fifty boys and girls under eight- 
een years of age entered the contest and Arthur was 
awarded second prize. He was one of four appointed 
to read his essay twice before large audiences (that paid 
twenty-five cents admission) in the Broadway Taber- 



A/o/. 



7>/L0J>UCT/O/Y£,' 





(J- Ls ^'a^7 fck*^C&^£s' 



w2 






^c^Jeu, rjCfib fad^A 





A PAGE FROIvI THE OSSINING GAZETTE 
At fourteen years of age Arthur Pierson was one of the editors and printers — writing out by hand copies 
of the paper for subscribers. Here appeared some of his first essays, stories and poems. 



Prize Temperance Oration 



nacle, New York. The prize was advertised as a " splen- 
did library " of fifteen volumes. They included such 
titles as "Pike's Persuasives to Early Piety, inter- 
spersed with suitable prayers," " Baxter's Saints' Eest " 
and others equally far removed from the daredevil 
literature usually supposed to be attractive to a boy of 
fifteen. 

The period between school and college was an im- 
portant one in young Pierson's experience. He com- 
pleted his course in Ossining early in the winter of 
1852-53 and matriculated for Columbia College, New 
York, but was still too young to be received. It was 
therefore decided that he should live at home and enter 
the employ of the mercantile house of Alfred Edwards 
and Company, Park Place. This enabled him to earn 
something towards his college expenses, gave him a new 
idea of the use of money and trained him in business 
principles and methods. He was always thankful for 
this brief experience and its influence was evident 
throughout his life. It taught him accuracy in keeping 
his records and accounts, inculcated reliability in 
handling other people's money, trained him to rigk^y 
estimate values, taught promptness in paying debts, 
and in other ways gave him the business sense that is 
too often lacking in clergymen. He learned the solemn 
obligation of a promise and was always known for his 
absolute honesty and truthfulness. He was greatly 
pleased by one experience at this time. The young man «. 
was never spoiled with an oversupply of spending 
money, for while his parents were thrifty they had a 
large family and his father was not in a position to 
supply all his boy's needs, much less his luxuries. He 
had, however, a wealthy uncle who one day asked 



38 Boarding-School Days 



Arthur if he was in need of money. When the young 
man candidly admitted that he was, the uncle took out 
a blank card and wrote an order to his cashier : 

" Give the bearer, Arthur T. Pierson, as much money 
as he wants and charge to my account. John Gbay." 

The boy took his uncle at his word, drew as much 
money as he needed and repaid it to the cashier as soon 
as he was able. The uncle never asked how much he 
drew nor when he returned it. In commenting on this 
incident in later years Dr. Pierson said : 

" How like God's unbounded grace is the promise 
c Ask what thou wilt.' How rich we are when God is 
our banker ! It is not our name or account that makes 
our request honoured but the name of Him who en- 
dorses it — £ Whatsoever ye shall ask in My Name.' " 

The temptations of city life were not unknown to the 
young clerk. Many sought his companionship and tried 
to induce him to follow them into questionable amuse- 
ments. It is estimated that there were, in 1850, 150,- 
000 young men in New York. Many of them came 
from farms and were unable to stand their ground 
against the temptations that met them in city life. 
Away from the restraints of home, they gave up church- 
going habits and withdrew from other Christian influ- 
ences. Pierson saw four or five of his fellow clerks 
who had come from the country, ignorant and inno- 
cent, wreck their manhood and constitutions through 
drink and debauchery. The evident results of gam- 
bling, strong drink and theatre-gqmg led him to form 
the conviction that these should have no place in a 
young man's life. 



A Clerk in New York 



39 



It was the problem of caring for the thousands of 
youth in the city that led to the founding of the first 
Young Men's Christian Association in New York — the 
fifth to be established in the world (1852). With 
Morris K. Jesup, William E. Dodge, Howard Crosby 
and Samuel Colgate, Arthur T. Pierson became one of 
the first one hundred members. Forty years later he 
said : " Although no institution in the world is perfect, 
it seems to me that the Y. M. C. A., when its Christian 
character is maintained supreme, is as nearly complete 
as any human organization could be. I know no other 
institution that has, on the whole, so mighty a lever to 
uplift the young men of the community." 



m 



AT HAMILTON COLLEGE — IN TEAINING FOE 

SEE VICE 

IN harmony with the wishes of his parents and the 
advice of his teachers - and friends young Pierson 
early decided to prepare for the Christian ministry. 
Although he was not yet conscious of any special 
"call," his talents, inclination and training all pointed 
in this direction. Without seeing the final goal, he 
took the next step in the divine program and every de- 
tail in this program is important. 

He did not enter Columbia College as he expected, 
for his parents thought it best to send him away once 
more from the distractions of city life. Hamilton Col- 
lege was chosen as a Christian institution of high 
scholarship, large enough to offer the advantages of con- 
tact and competition with many classes of young men, 
yet small enough to allow for individual instruction and 
the impression of the personality of professors on stu- 
dents. Eev. Albert Barnes, the eminent divine, was 
one of the famous alumni and Dr. H. G. O. Dwight of 
Constantinople was pointed out, with pride, as a mis- 
sionary product of the college. The early morning of 
September 19, 1853, saw Arthur cutting loose once 
more from his moorings and sailing out upon an un- 
known sea. It was of immense advantage that the de- 
cision as to his life-work had already been made, since it 
saved him from aimlessness and from a consequent waste 
of time and energy. He kept his port in mind, studied 

40 



Entering a New World 



his chart, trimmed his sails, steered by his Polar Star 
and made a straight course for his desired haven. He 
says of himself, " I was precociously mature mentally — 
a thing I should not like to have true of my children, 
— but I was lacking in ripe judgment and maturity of 
character." He was ambitious and energetic and had 
confidence in his own ability to succeed. In the new 
world into which he was entering he was destined to 
receive some hard knocks that were calculated to give 
him a more modest estimate of himself. He took these 
experiences philosophically and acknowledged in after 
years that he greatly needed any discipline he re- 
ceived. 

The entering class of which Arthur was a member 
numbered forty — which was, up to that time, the lar- 
gest in the history of the college. God knows how 
much depends on a first stand in such a new world, 
and He gave young Arthur an opportunity to place him- 
self at once definitely on His side. On the drive from 
Utica to Clinton, Arthur fell in with some students who 
took him to their boarding-house in town to spend the 
first night. After supper the landlady asked him, 
though an under classman and the youngest of the 
group, to lead family worship. It was a real ordeal, 
but he consented. This act marked him at once as an 
out and out Christian, and some of the companions of 
that first evening became his lifelong friends. 

At the beginning of his college course he resolved to 
keep a journal — a resolve that many have made — and 
he kept it up for sixty years — a feat which few can 
equal. This unique record reveals the systematic per- 
severance so characteristic of the man. From these 
records and from contributions to the local press we 



42 



At Hamilton College 



glean many of the facts that follow. In the opening 
sentences of his description of his first day at college, 
we recognize the earmarks of a youthful grandiloquence. 

" The richness of youth's golden twilight had not yet 
deepened into the sober light of manhood, when I en- 
tered college. The irresistible fascination of boyish 
romance yet held sway over my soul, clothing whatever 
was dark and cheerless in the prospect, in the attractive 
habiliments of hope. . . . 

". . . The day following my arrival, I went to the 
house of the president, called, in the sacrilegious lan- 
guage of the students, the 4 Prex.' I was met at the 
door by a tall, cadaverous, skeleton-like gentleman in 
black, on whose long nose rested that scholastic badge, 
a pair of spectacles, and from whose black silk gown I 
shrank in indefinable horror. It was the ' Prex ' him- 
self. His long, straight hair, combed back, gave to his 
already rigid features an air of peculiar sternness. I 
know nothing of his origin further than the report 
which the students circulate as authentic, that an 
Egyptian mummy, conveyed to this country, on being 
opened, revived and became the president of this col- 
lege." 

Before his freshman year was passed young Pierson 
had acquired a high respect and affection for this 
" mummy " who went in public by the name of Presi- 
dent Simeon North. He was a good friend to the stu- 
dents, honest-hearted, level-headed, strong-handed, a 
man who taught the youth under him how to think for 
themselves and to do the work of men in the world. 

Pier son's story continues : " While I was waiting 
my trial, in a roomful of professors and candidates, I 
noticed on my right one of the greenest looking speci- 



A Trying Ordeal 



43 



mens I ever saw. He was facing a large pompous pro- 
fessor who was questioning him in mathematics. The 
eyes of the youth stared vacantly around. ... If 
he ever had any ideas they had entirely evaporated. 
Circles, parallelograms, diameters and tangents, cubes 
and spheres were all one to him. His mind was evi- 
dently chaotic. ... At the other extremity of the 
room, facing a thin, pale-looking LL. D., sat a richly 
dressed JSTew Yorker whose expression reminded me 
strongly of a ' Baboon,' and who acted as though it 
were his firm conviction that what he did not know 
was not worth knowing. But he was more ready than 
correct in^his answers. It was amusing to look first at 
the fellow on my right, fairly expecting to be devoured 
and then at the ignoramus on my left whose awkward- 
ness was only equalled by his self-satisfaction. . . . 

"But my time had arrived. . . . First came 
mathematics. It seemed to me that my examiner ap- 
plied figures to everything, for every movement and 
question seemed measured by compass and square. 
My recollection is indistinct but my impression is that 
I gave the ' rule of three ' for the process of algebraic 
multiplication. . . . Then came Greek. The pro- 
fessor handed me a Greek Reader. For some reason I 
became dizzy; the Greek text became a black mark 
and I suffered martyrdom. The professor, seeing my 
difficulty, read the text for me while I translated 
slowly and not very surely. As to the rest I willingly 
let fall the curtain. I left the house like Ulysses when 

" 1 He fled with joy pernicious Cyclop' s den 
Not wishing ever to return again. . . ."' 

In justice to the young freshman, however, it should 



44 



At Hamilton College 



be said that he was ill that day and returned later to 
request the professor to give him a second trial. He 
was told that, contrary to his expectation, he had 
passed successfully. In his diary he remarks, with his 
usual fondness for a play on words: "The fire of 
questions had been so slight that I was not scorched." 
The early years of faithful study had enabled him to 
stand the severe test. 

The next day he set out to secure a room on the 
campus and to furnish it according to his means. 
This was not a simple task for a young man almost 
without funds, for Stephen Pierson's recent business 
ventures had not proved successful and he could supply 
his son with very little money. Everything beyond 
tuition and the bare necessaries of life must be pro- 
vided by Arthur's own industry and ingenuity. He 
faced the situation manfully, secured a room in Kirk- 
land Hall, and furnished it " luxuriously " with a chair, a 
table, a cot, and a straw mattress. He paid for his 
rent, light and heat by acting as caretaker of the 
sophomore recitation room. 

The necessity of adding to his small store of funds 
led him to constant economy and industry. Though he 
was only a self-taught musician he had some real 
talent, and secured a position as organist in the village 
church. His carefully balanced account books show a 
total income of only $150 a year, and frequent items 
marked " benevolence." 

A vein of humour runs through much of his college 
diaries, side by side with signs of what would seem to 
many an overabundance of pious expressions. He thus 
describes his first attendance at chapel : 

"All the students assembled at 9 a. m. according 



The Chapel Service 



45 



to custom. . ' . . The chapel is a curious building 
designed by an old-fashioned deacon who evidently re- 
garded any ornament or comfort as an invention of 
the devil. The backs of the benches are at right angles 
to the seats and the pews are very narrow as if the de- 
signer meant to 

* ' Brace our backs against a board 
To make us tall and straight. ' 

"The chapel formerly had an organ, but one day 
some hilarious students took out the pipes and used 
them to serenade the faculty and ladies of the town. 
Since then the instrument has been silent. . . . 

" By the kindness of a friend I was shown to the 
freshman seats but some were not so fortunate. One 
wag, seeing a freshman enter and look around in a per- 
plexed way, directed him to the faculty seats. The 
poor fellow did not discover the joke until the president 
and professors entered. . . . 

"After prayers it is customary for the classes to 
leave chapel in order of their seniority but some of the 
freshmen started to go out first. They were promptly 
hissed and one poor fellow, who heard shouts of 
'Fresh' coming from every side, stood transfixed like 
a statue, almost frightened to death at the enormity of 
his offense." 

College students in those days enjoyed less freedom 
than now. None could leave town without special per- 
mission; study hours were rigidly enforced and no 
student was permitted to be out of his room after 10 
p. M. Bonfires and fireworks on the campus were pro- 
hibited and the use of intoxicants spelled expulsion. 



4 6 



At Hamilton College 



Chapel services were held both morning and evening 
and there was no provision for " voluntary " attend- 
ance. A strict system of demerits was applied to all 
breaches of discipline such as reading during public 
worship, which cost five demerits. Twenty such marks 
called forth a warning to the student, a letter to par- 
ents, and might result in suspension. 

Pierson was, at this time, a slender, nervous youth 
with dark waving locks that he used to shake gal- 
lantly. He wore a small silken skullcap on the cam- 
pus and was " always going somewhere " — never idling. 
He was ever ready to assume the responsibilities of 
leadership which at times brought embarrassing pub- 
licity. In after years he was fond of telling how at 
one of the first student prayer-meetings he attended, 
there was one of those long pauses, so uncomfortable 
to an active youth unaccustomed to " Quaker meetings." 
After enduring the silence as long as possible, the 
young freshman, ignoring the leader, called out: 

" Brother (naming an upper classman), will you 

pray ? " It was many weeks before Pierson could 
meet any of his college mates on the campus without 
being bantered by a clearing of the throat and the sal- 
utation, " Brother , will you pray ? " Such good- 
humoured chaffing was not resented and the experience 
helped to teach a needed lesson. 

Prof. Anson J. Upson took a kindly interest in 
the lad of sixteen, and many years later Dr. Pierson 
spoke his gratitude. " It pleased God," he said, " that 
there should be one of the instructors in college suffi- 
ciently friendly to come to me and tell me where I was 
making a fool of myself. I had been trotted out so 
frequently at home to speak in public that I did not 



Student Fraternities 



47 



know that silence was especially golden in a freshman. 
Professor Upson rendered me a great service by his 
friendly warning as to the rocks ahead." 

College sports in those days were not the highly 
developed, semi-professional games of modern times, 
and did not supplant the studies entered in the curricu- 
lum. Pierson entered heartily into college life but he 
was not strong physically and did not take any large 
part in athletics. He took long walks and main- 
tained his health by care in eating, sleeping and fresh 
air. While always slender (he weighed only 124 
pounds) he was of that nervous, wiry build that could 
endure great strain. In fifty years of strenuous public 
life after graduation, with duties that compelled him 
to travel many thousands of miles and to speak often 
two or three times a day, he was seldom obliged to 
break an engagement because of illness. 

Hamilton College, in the fifties, was a hotbed of 
secret societies. Fierce rivalry existed between the 
" Alpha Delts," the " Sigma Phis " and other Greek 
letter fraternities, but fiercer still was the contest for 
supremacy between the secret and non-secret organi- 
zations. There was a great rivalry for college honours 
and any suspicion of favouritism was a signal for ener- 
getic remonstrance. At one time there were serious 
riots, college windows were smashed and other property 
was damaged. The pulpit ("bear-box" as it was 
called) as well as the stoves and benches were carried 
away from the chapel. In sophomore year the non- 
secret fraternity seriously debated the question, " Is it 
expedient for the whole fraternity to leave college and 
publish its protest to the world ? " Several students 
actually did withdraw. 



48 



At Hamilton College 



The question as to which society a student should 
join was an important one, since this determined a 
man's associates and his social position. "Secret" 
men looked down upon the " Antis " as low caste and 
considered them only a step above the " neutrals " or 
outcastes. 

Pierson's evident talents caused it to be reported 
that he would lead his class and he was urged by both 
the secret men and the " Antis " to join their fraternities. 
He may have been misinformed on some points, but it 
is interesting to see that even at this early age he de- 
termined to make his decision not because of social or 
intellectual advantages but from moral motives. We 
find his arguments and convictions rehearsed in his 
journal and letters : 

" Politics on a small scale," he writes, " have entered 
college life. Since coming here I have been surrounded 
by men electioneering for the different societies. There 
are four secret fraternities and one non-secret, but I 
will not pledge myself to any until I know more about 
them. . . . The Anti-Secret Society (which later 
changed its name to the Delta Upsilon to escape from 
the consequences of the initial letters) is composed of 
some of the best men in college. The majority of 
them are pious and industrious, are opposed to secrecy 
and are of the best moral character. That is far more 
important than talent." 

The reasons he gives for joining the " Antis " reveal 
characteristics which marked his choices through life. 
(1) While the secret fraternities seemed to have the 
advantage in numbers, talent, and influence among 
students and faculty, the " Antis " were, he thought, 
standing on higher moral ground, (2) The men in the 



Social Life and Friendships 



49 



latter seemed to have a more general reputation for 
piety, while many in the secret societies were said to 
have loose habits. (3) He approved of the standard 
set up in the motto obdev yjd^Xov (" Nothing Concealed ") 
as better calculated to produce harmony in the college. 
In answer to the suggestion that he ought to join the 
less moral society in order to reform its members, he 
remarked : " My Bible is my only guide. While it en- 
courages me to endeavour to make the wicked better, it 
in no case tells me to join hand in hand with them 
(Psalm i.)." 

Pierson was always opposed to any hazing that seemed 
like a cowardly attack by superior numbers, but there 
were some pranks which he could contemplate with 
relish. He tells of one unsuspecting freshman whom 
the sophomores volunteered to drill in declamation. At 
one point in the selection where an excited Hungarian 
exile addresses the hated Emperor Mcolas of Eussia, 
the sophomores suggested that the freshman turn about 
towards his right hand, and with a very expressive and 
emphatic gesture address himself to the Eussian autocrat 
as though he were beside him. The result exceeded 
their wildest expectations, for the gullible freshman, 
waxing warm, turned about, and shaking his fist in the 
face of the dignified professor of rhetoric thundered 
out, " And you — you old northern bear, sit there 
quietly on your imperial throne warming yourself in 
furs," etc., etc. ! This climax brought a tumult of 
applause which the freshman appropriated as his due 
for his dramatic eloquence ! 

There were not many social advantages in Clinton, 
but Pierson was not a recluse. As a member of the 
Glee Club and of the chapel quartette he spent many 



At Hamilton College 



pleasant evenings in the homes of his professors or 
with the young people of the town. 

Friendships always filled a large place in his 
life and thought, and in nothing did he show more 
wisdom than in his choice of intimate associates. 
Even at this early age he was a careful student of 
human nature and sought his comrades not for their 
wealth or brilliancy but for their real worth. His 
whole life was enriched by the friendships he formed 
in college. Among those whom he admired and 
loved were "William J. Erdman, who later became 
a well-known preacher and Bible teacher ; Herrick 
Johnson, later professor of homiletics in McCormick 
Seminary, Charles E. Eobinson, a well-known Doctor 
of Divinity in New York, and Delavan Leonard, who 
was afterwards an editorial co-worker for over twenty 
years. From these friends we gather the following 
picture of Pierson during his undergraduate days. 
Johnson, who was class president when Pierson was 
secretary, writes : 

" From the first day I met Pierson on College Hill I 
had confidence in him, and we became friends. He 
was fresh, eager, impulsive, warm hearted, enthusiastic. 
He was the best linguist in the class and among the 
first in intellectual clearness and scholarly culture. As 
a writer and speaker he commanded attention and kept 
a high place of honour and influence throughout his 
college life. He was fervid, imaginative, genial, a good 
story-teller, nimble in speech, swift in perception, large 
in mental poise and full of cheer. His face was a sun- 
beam, and there were prophecies that found fulfillment 
in his large and useful life. He was pelted with jokes 
but without sting. His very foibles were winsome. 



A Classmate's Reminiscences 



His enthusiasm was boundless and found its chief joy 
in usefulness." 

" His quick repartee, brilliant smile and love of fun," 
writes Dr. Charles E. Eobinson, " his open-heartedness, 
confiding disposition, general benevolence towards all 
and decided ability were marked even in freshman year. 
He took high rank in speaking and scholarship, in 
debating and literature." 

Dr. Leonard thus describes his first meeting with 
Pierson in October, 1855 : 

" He had then just entered his junior year, and a few 
hours before I had arrived on the campus a freshman 
and an utter stranger. After supper I was standing on 
the steps of South College taking in my new surround- 
ings and oppressed by more than a touch of loneliness 
and homesickness. Just then Pierson came up with 
extended hand, inquired my name and gave his, and 
with the utmost cordiality invited me to his room. I 
went, without fear of hazing, and almost at once we 
fell into a friendship and intimacy unmatched by any 
other in my life. I had come from a farm in western 
New York and was clad in plainest attire. My face 
was sunburned and my hands were hardened with toil ; 
while Pierson was city born and bred, and arrayed in 
garments which seemed to me to surpass anything I 
had ever seen ! Though a member of the junior class, 
he treated me as an equal, and appeared to desire my 
friendship. That first evening in particular I was 
fairly stunned by my new friend's musical ability, both 
vocal and instrumental, as with voice and nimble 
fingers upon his melodeon he rendered not only hymn- 
tunes and anthems but also passages from this and that 
oratorio and opera. The fellowship thus begun con- 



52 



At Hamilton College 



tinued until his graduation two years later, and again 
for a year in Union Theological Seminary. 

" On the platform before an audience, he was at 
his best. Scarcely ever did he fail to please and edify. 
He always had something to say which was worth hear- 
ing, and he was also certain to say it in such a way as 
to hold the attention of his hearers. Though at gradu- 
ation he was as yet scarcely out of boyhood, being only 
just twenty, the evidence was conclusive that, should 
he live, his achievements were destined to be far more 
than ordinary." 

Most of the professors at Hamilton were not only 
men of high intellectual attainments and moral stand- 
ing but of deep religious conviction and experience. 
Under these influences young Pierson developed greatly 
in spiritual ideals and strength of character. He was 
known among his fellows as pure minded and earnest, 
and many were the times when a ribald jest was cut 
short at his appearance on the scene. He refused to 
furnish the gallery of his imagination with evil pictures 
or the storehouse of his memory with vile stories such 
as are often passed around among college men. On 
one occasion when the students were observing the old 
custom of " Burning of Demosthenes " to celebrate the 
close of the year, Pierson joined in the fun until it came 
to the oration. " That," he says, " was a complete em- 
bodiment of filth and filthy language ; insomuch that I 
was obliged to leave the room." 

One day he saw a circular of fifty books distributed 
by a Utica firm and wrote in his journal : " All were of 
licentious character. It is terrible to assume the re- 
sponsibility of issuing and advertising fifty books to pol- 
lute the hearts of youth ! Abominable, to think how 



A Religious Revival 



53 



much evil is thus done. I would avoid them as I would 
a coal of fire." 

The spiritual life in college was at a low ebb in fresh- 
man year but during his junior year there was consider- 
able religious interest, largely due to the neighbouring 
revivals under Charles G. Finney. This interest was 
increased by an accident to one of the students which re- 
sulted in death. On November 26, 1855, Pierson wrote : 

" The spirit of God is here and F 's death has 

produced a deep impression. On Saturday evening at 
prayer-meeting four spoke, all professing to be Chris- 
tians, and referred to this providence as having forcibly 
impressed them. . . . To-day at 9 a. m. a prayer- 
meeting was held." 

This student had been deeply concerned in the spirit- 
ual condition of the college and now his prayers for a 
revival of religion were answered through the interest 
awakened by his death. Pierson's diary records many 
conversations with college mates, professors and others 
on religious subjects, for here he began to do personal 
religious work. He records with thankfulness many 
promising conversions — among them that of one of his 
professors. The death of his sister Annie at this time 
also made him more sensible of the importance of work- 
ing while it is day. 

During a part of his college course, Pierson acted as 
secretary of the village missionary society and taught a 
Bible class in the village church. In senior year, 
during the revival period of 185T, there was special re- 
ligious interest in Clinton as in other parts of the 
country, and he was instrumental in leading many of 
his Bible class to confess Christ. This work also led 
him to adopt a plan of systematic Bible reading. By 



54 



At Hamilton College 



taking one chapter a day and three on Sundays, he read 
the New Testament through twice and the Old Testa- 
ment once in a year and a half. True to his early train- 
ing, he had strict views of Sabbath observance and 
made it his rule on that day " not to think his own 
thoughts nor speak his own words " even in the writing 
of ordinary letters. 

Birthdays and other anniversaries were always im- 
portant mile-stones to him. At seventeen (1854) he 
wrote : " May there be fewer unimproved blessings to 
be mourned over at the close of another year ; 99 at 
eighteen : " I would that I could feel that in all respects 
my time has been well spent. I fear it has not been, 
but with St. Paul I can say, I will ' press forward to 
the things that are before ' ; " at nineteen : " May God 
so aid me to improve my time that it may not be re- 
viewed with regret when passed." A year later his 
prayer was still more serious : " Oh, that the next year 
of my life may be a holier one." 

This same youthful earnestness enabled Pierson to 
take a high stand in his classes, and in literary society 
work. " I came to college," he says, " with the resolve 
that if by assiduous application, punctuality and at- 
tention to duties I could lead my class, without injuring 
my health, I would do so." In view of his chosen call- 
ing he devoted much attention to training in writing 
and speaking and his compositions always had the salt 
of sincerity and the spice of novelty. They were 
written with a definite purpose to gain attention and 
also to convince. 

Public speaking was not as easy for the young man 
as it seemed to his audience. When he first appeared 
on the college chapel stage he says that he experienced 



Literary Honours 



55 



"a tremulousness of the limbs" — which he overcame 
by stamping forcibly. By steady perseverance he 
gained the mastery over his nerves, so that before he 
left college he was acknowledged to be one of the best 
orators in his class. He won honours in classics, poetry, 
English composition, debating, rhetoric and oratory and 
was elected a member of the Phi Beta Kappa when 
that society entered Hamilton. After one unsuccessful 
competition he wrote : " I care not for these things. My 
ambition is to excel, not as an end but as a means to an 
end, in hope of doing good. I seek humbly to win for 
the glory of God. All the honour that the world can 
confer is not so precious as my own honour. Nothing 
must be allowed to throw a shadow over my Christian 
character." 

Hamilton College excelled in the cultivation of able 
writers and speakers. The students were assembled 
every Saturday to hear essays from the lower classmen 
and orations from the juniors and seniors. These per- 
formances were judiciously criticized by the professors 
and plagiarism was severely rebuked as stealing. The 
training in the fraternities and literary societies was 
also excellent, for here the students criticized each 
other — sometimes with relentless candour. Some of the 
characteristics of Arthur Pierson at this age are noted 
by those who passed on his work. One critic said, in 
reviewing an essay on " The Embodiment of Thought " : 

"Man is a progressive animal. Mr. Pierson has 
been harping on the strings of architecture, painting, 
sculpture and music long enough. He would better 
lay aside this class of subjects for at least six months." 

Another criticism related to his overabundance of il- 
lustration ; of imagery and of underscoring. In gen- 



56 



At Hamilton College 



eral, however, he was highly commended for neatness, 
logic, though tf ulness and style. 

During his college course he began his career as an 
author and wrote frequently for New York and local 
papers. His printed poems and essays of this period 
would fill volumes and yet he wrote solely for practice 
or to give vent to his overflowing exuberance of 
thought — never for money. Before he was twenty- 
one he had seen over one hundred of his productions 
in print and yet had never received a cent in return. 
This characterized his work throughout life. At one 

time he entered in his diary : " Mr. is anxiously 

inquiring how much I expect for the article I wrote for 
him. I told him not to be disturbed — that I did noth- 
ing for hire." He counted himself as God's steward 
and placed his talents freely at the disposal of others. 
The number of noms-de-plume which he used to hide 
his identity is astonishing — among others we find 
" Amicus, Felix, Pierre Fils, IT. Donough Outis, 
A. Nonymous, Esq., Skezix, Hujus, Am. Phibius," etc. 

Many poems of this period were highly praised and 
widely published. Some appeared in the New York 
Evening Mirror with which Thomas Bailey Aldrich 
was associated. This author took a great fancy to the 
young student and encouraged him to write. One 
poem, in imitation of " The Bells " by Edgar Allen 
Poe, was publicly attributed to Mr. Aldrich, aud in re- 
ply the well-known poet wrote : " I did not write it— 
but I am pleased to have been thought its author. As 
a general thing I rank imitations below parodies. A 
parody is an understood burlesque, but an imitation is 
too often a mild name for an unpardonable plagiarism. 
Not so in this case, however. It is true that the author 



A Poem—" The Winds " 



57 



owes the shape of his verse to E. A. Poe, but the thought, 
now as delicate as the summer zephyr, now solemn like 
the sepulchral moan of an autumn midnight, lifts the 
poem even above 6 the tintinabulation of The Bells.' " 

The poem referred to was entitled " The Winds," and 
was written when Arthur Pierson was seventeen : 

" Hear the gentle summer winds, 
Zephyr winds. 
Of what sweet JEolian music their melody 
reminds ; 

How they whisper — whisper — whisper 
Through the balmy air of night, 
While their strains so sweet and floating, 
All their joyfulness denoting, 
Fill the spirit with delight. 
How they glide — glide — glide 
By the window at your side. 
Ah, what charming undulation every lis'ning 
person finds 
In the winds — winds — winds — winds — 
Winds — winds — winds — 
In the breathing and the playing of the 
winds. 

u Hear the cold winter winds, 
Icy winds. 

Of what joyous fireside home-scenes their chill- 
ing blast reminds ; 
Hear them whistle — whistle — whistle 
In the freezing air of night, 
And the constant clamour blowing, 
Ever loud and louder growing, 
How they chill and blast and blight ! 
Hear them roar — roar — roar, 
Now more fiercely than before. 
'Tis a banging, slamming uproar that everybody 
finds 

In the winds — winds — winds — winds — 

Winds — winds — winds — 
In the rushing and the brushing of the winds. 



58 



At Hamilton College 



" Hear the solemn churchyard winds, 
Mournful winds ; 
Of what agony and sorrow their direful chant 

reminds. 

How they mutter — mutter — mutter 
Bound those graves and vaults at night. 
Their unceasing moan and sighing 
Makes you think of dead and dying, 
And of ghostly shrouds of white. 
Hear them blow — blow — blow, 
As if saying only i woe ! ' 
Ah ! what sorrowful vibration the weeping 
mourner finds 
In the winds — winds — winds — winds — 
Winds — winds — winds — 
In the moaning and the groaning of the winds* 

" Hear the awful tempest winds, 
Stormy winds ; 
Of what wrecks and sad destruction their angry 
roar reminds. 
How they grumble — grumble — grumble 
Through the wood and vales at night, 
While their mad terrific lashing, 
Through the trees and buildings crashing, 
Eeally chills you with affright. 
Hear them howl — howl — howl, 
With a fierce and angry growl. 
Sad and cheerless desolation every human being 
finds 

In the winds — winds — winds — winds — 
Winds — winds — winds — 
In the grumbling and the rumbling of the 
winds." 

During summer vacations Pierson set himself to fol- 
low systematic courses of reading in literature, biog- 
raphy, history and poetry and made it a rule to read at 
least one hundred pages a day. Much of his time also 
was spent in writing, that he might gain facility of ex- 
pression, beauty of diction and definiteness of ideas. 



Betrothal 



59 



He was still in training for service and did not believe 
that vacations should be periods in which a man loses 
the impetus gained in the period of study. 

But vacations were not all work days. The summer 
months and winter holidays were used for delightful 
outings and to cement many friendships. During the 
Christmas holidays of his junior year — when he was 
eighteen years of age — he met Miss Frances Benedict 
who was keeping house for her father Seth Willis ton 
Benedict in the Pierson home. Arthur's parents were 
at that time living in Chicago and the two young peo- 
ple thus brought together were immediately attracted 
to each other. Other young women friends had pre- 
viously impressed the young man and he might have 
allowed himself to succumb to their charms — but God 
graciously prevented him from making any such serious 
mistake and providentially brought together the two 
eminently fitted for each other. Both were Christians 
so that there was little danger of disagreement on the 
most important questions of life. 

Arthur Pierson was graduated from Hamilton with 
high honours, but the best part of his college course 
was perhaps that outside the curriculum, including the 
personal influence of some of his professors. Concern- 
ing two of these men he wrote : 

"Prof. Edward North — 4 Old Greek,' as we called 
him — had the culture of an Athenian scholar and the 
consecration of a Christian teacher. He was a magnif- 
icent man mentally and morally, though not impress- 
ive physically. He took a personal interest in his 
pupils and I spent many an evening in his home. He 
could read Greek as we would read English. His con- 
tagious enthusiasm and childlike reverence for the 



6o 



At Hamilton College 



Scriptures inspired me to read the Word of God in 
the original. Then there was Professor Boot — ' Square 
Eoot ' as we nicknamed him. He was a noble man of 
highest integrity, and not to be trifled with in his 
classes. The students did not dare to play tricks with 
him and could not recite successfully with only ' intui- 
tive knowledge.' This thoroughness made him univer- 
sally respected and his moral influence was most impress- 
ive." 

Even more than the literary honours Arthur Pierson 
valued the manifest confidence and esteem of these 
professors. He was greatly pleased when at the end of 
junior year the president, Simeon JSTorth, called him to 
his office, and after commending him for the way in 
which he had taken care of the sophomore class room, 
offered to give the college bell into his charge for the 
next year. The diary thus closes the account : 

" Prex said to me most solemnly, 6 Mr. Pierson, this 
is the post of greatest responsibility. The bell is the 
regulator of the college and therefore must be put in 
charge of the man who can most be depended on for 
punctuality and responsibility.' The course of integrity 
is its own reward." 



IV 



IN THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINAEY— STUDYING 
TECHNIQUE 

COLLEGE did not turn Arthur Pierson aside 
from the ministry, although in the course of 
his scientific studies his inquiring mind became 
a little skeptical on some points which he had been 
taught to believe. There were not lacking companions 
and even professors who suggested more doubts than 
the twenty-year-old student could answer. Of this 
period he says : 

" Just as I was leaving college, I felt myself in dan- 
ger of sinking into the horrible pit and miry clay of 
doubt. I had been much interested in the study of the 
natural sciences and read many books on the subject, 
written by unbelievers. A shallow knowledge of 
science was leading me into skepticism, but I found that 
the deeper I went into the study, the more surely I 
came upon the reality of God. I found ' a little learn- 
ing to be a dangerous thing,' but that all true science 
leads to the divine Creator and ruler of the universe." 

He determined to prepare for the ministry at Union 
Theological Seminary which had been established in 
New York City in 1836. It was then located on Uni- 
versity Place, near Washington Park, and when Mr. 
Pierson entered in the autumn of 1857, there were one 
hundred and twenty students and five professors. The 
seminary was not housed in the palatial quarters of to- 

61 



62 



In the Theological Seminary 



day, and there was nothing in the surroundings that 
were calculated to unfit young men for the strenuous 
life of simplicity and self-denial that awaited them in 
their chosen calling. Union Seminary was founded as 
a conservative seminary reporting to the " New School 
Assembly" of the Presbyterian Church. The pro- 
spectus stated that it was intended to be " a training 
school, not to foster religious controversy but to unite 
a divided church, ... a place where all men of 
moderate views who desired to stand free from the 
extremes of doctrinal speculation, practical radicalism 
and ecclesiastical domination, might cordially and af- 
fectionately rally." 

Here Pierson spent three years of special study and 
practical training. His debt to the professors who 
guided his thought and inspired his life could never be 
adequately acknowledged. There was Dr. Thomas H. 
Skinner, professor of Sacred Ehetoric and Pastoral 
Theology, whom he mentioned as the holiest man he 
had ever met up to that time. " The atmosphere of 
heaven seemed about him. Piety beamed from his eye, 
gleamed in his smile and almost made his footsteps ra- 
diant. He may not have been an intellectual giant but 
his spiritual insight and influence were remarkable and 
in a great measure Union Seminary of those days was 
poised upon him as a spiritual centre. Though the stu- 
dents were wont to imitate his lisping speech and his 
habit of gazing steadfastly into the corner of the room 
while he lectured, they nevertheless loved and honoured 
him. He had a marvellous power in reading the Scrip- 
tures and many times, after reading a chapter like 
Ezekiel xxxiv. or Daniel ix., I have gone to my room 
to verify the passage and make sure that what seemed 



The " Annus Mirabilis " in Missions 



so new was really old. His reading and his prayers 
made me a better man." 

Prof. Henry Boynton Smith, who taught System- 
atic Theology, was characterized by Pierson as a 
man of great learning and the clearest thinker he ever 
knew. " He taught us to know God, for his system of 
theology was nearly perfect." He was genial in man- 
ner, full of humour and a great favourite with the young 
men. 

For one year Dr. Elias Riggs, the famous missionary 
to Turkey, taught Hebrew in the seminary and 
stamped the impress of his character and missionary 
enthusiasm on the students. Under his influence and 
through lectures by Dr. Schauffler of Constantinople 
Arthur Pierson's missionary interest was greatly stimu- 
lated. 

The year 1858 was in fact an " Annus Mirabilis " in 
modern missions. During that one year doors in 
heathen lands were opened, giving access to one thou- 
sand millions of the human race. Japan was opened 
to the Gospel, China by the treaty of Tientsin gave ac- 
cess to her interior provinces and provided that any 
Chinese might accept Christianity without fear of per- 
secution. The control of India was also taken from 
the sordid East India Company and Christian Eng- 
land came into control of the Indies. In the same 
year the first woman missionary penetrated the Zenanas 
of Hindustan; in Italy the foundations of religious 
freedom were laid ; David Livingstone entered Africa 
the second time to prepare the way for the missionary ; 
in Mexico, Benito Juares overthrew the Papal power. 
These events stirred the Church from sleep and called 
forth volunteers. George E. Post, a classmate and 



64 In the Theological Seminary 



personal friend of Pierson, decided for foreign service, 
and the question came home to his own conscience with 
an insistence which the plea of poor health would not 
silence. He says : 

" I heard the question answered by the argument 
from conceit, that we students had forsooth too great 
capacity for acquisition and culture to go into foreign 
lands, and that we should remain where our gifts 
would be appreciated. These arguments may have 
tended to shape my course, but I had before me the ex- 
ample of the wonderful linguist and scholar, Dr. Elias 
Riggs, the cultured gentleman who was giving his life 
to the Turks. The vision of the marvellous events in 
heathen lands also stirred my apathetic soul to a 
further study of missions ; but I said to myself ' home 
ties bind me to America.' In reality it was my ambi- 
tion that prevented me from truly and conscientiously 
considering at that time my duty in regard to the 
foreign field." 

Among friends and classmates in the seminary were 
William J. Erdman, Arthur Mitchell, afterwards secre- 
tary of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, 
and D. Stuart Dodge, a philanthropist and the son of a 
philanthropist. He met these men and others not only 
in the class room but in debating societies and in social 
circles that developed character and cemented friend- 
ship. 

It was according to the plan of God that Arthur Pier- 
son was brought back to jSTew York at the beginning of 
the great revival of 185T. What he saw and heard dur- 
ing those days of spiritual quickening helped to mould 
his ideals and convictions as to evangelism. The period 
between 1843 and 185T had been marked by stagnation 



The Revival of 1857 



65 



in New York churches so that the accessions to mem- 
bership scarcely equalled the losses by death and disci- 
pline, and attendance upon church services had fallen 
off to an alarming extent. Then a small cloud arose 
on the horizon and with it came hope of a downpour. 
Mr. Jeremiah C. Lamphier, a merchant, decided to give 
up his business and devote himself to the work of a lay 
evangelist. Commerce was crowding out religion in 
the mercantile district and Mr. Lamphier planned to 
set up a counter current by establishing a noonday 
prayer-meeting for business men in Fulton Street. 
There were six present on the first day (September 23, 
1857), twenty on the second and before long four rooms 
were filled with an attendance of hundreds. The in- 
terest spread throughout the city until there were 
twenty places in New York and Brooklyn open for 
daily services. Henry Ward Beecher, Theodore L. 
Cuyler and others began to preach with new power and 
religion became the chief topic of conversation. The 
daily papers aided by printing sermons and reports of 
the revival. Men and women of all classes were 
aroused, and early morning and evening meetings were 
conducted daily in many of the churches. Large 
union services were also held in the afternoons and 
many were converted and organized for Christian 
work. At about this time came also a financial crisis 
in which banks suspended payment and men were 
brought to a fresh realization of the uncertainty of 
earthly things. 

The Thirteenth Street Church, of which Arthur 
Pierson was a member, shared with others in the re- 
newed activity and received 245 at two communions. 
The young theologue was pressed into service and took 



66 In the Theological Seminary 



charge of a Bible class in the Sunday-school. This 
class grew in membership from sixteen to eighty- 
four and through God's blessing on the teacher's faith- 
ful efforts every member was led to Christ. The last 
to surrender himself to God joined the church on his 
young teacher's twenty-second birthday. Mr. Pierson 
himself was greatly blessed and records in his diary 
thanksgiving for a special baptism with the Holy Spirit. 
He wrote (April 1, 1858) : 

"I am every night in the meeting for inquiry and 
feel that the experience is of incalculable value to me. 
I have just begun to realize the true worth of souls and 
the true secret of living near to Christ. Now I am 
constantly and perfectly happy. Christ manifests 
Himself to me very clearly and closely and I feel that 
' for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.' How 
sweet it is to do anything for Christ ! How strange it 
is to be permitted to do anything for Him at all. I 
feel that I have been baptized with the Holy Spirit and 
am fully resolved never again to pass a day when I 
cannot feel at its close that I have done something for 
my Saviour." 

He was much exercised over the unconverted mem- 
bers of his own family and among his friends, and 
expresses words of praise as one after another they 
surrendered to God. 

This was the West Point period of the young cadet's 
training for service in the army of the King of kings. 
In the distractions of the city and the opportunities for 
social engagements, there were many temptations to 
divert his attention from hard work, but Arthur Pier- 
son did not allow even the absorbing interest of his 
love for his affianced wife to interfere with what he 



Years of Training 



6 7 



considered his duty as a soldier of the Cross. "While 
social calls and pleasures were not entirely neglected 
they were not permitted to interfere with his theolog- 
ical studies nor with his devotion to Bible class teaching 
and personal work. He often visited city prisons 
on Sunday evenings, helped in city missions, made 
personal calls and aided his pastor in church work. 
More and more he came to appreciate the good- 
ness and wisdom of God in leading him to a life-part- 
ner who not only put no serious stumbling-block in 
his way but who sympathized with him in his ideals 
and supported him in his efforts to win spiritual 
victories. 

These years of training in theology and Christian 
service brought also new lessons in the value and use 
of money. The necessity for self-support added to the 
perplexities and problems of the young student not yet 
of age. The firm by which Stephen Pierson was 
employed had failed and he had been obliged to 
move to Chicago in search of other employment. Kel- 
atives and friends were ever ready to help, but Arthur 
Pierson preferred to be independent. There were hard- 
ships to be endured and temptations to distrust God. 
In September, 1857, after two weeks' illness with chills 
and fever, and in the absence of his family, he had not 
even money enough to pay his car fare to ride to the 
doctor's. But he was not deserted and a few days later 
he recorded with gratitude : " During the whole of my 
illness I have been most kindly provided for and have 
wanted scarcely anything. So can Providence take 
care of us. Why did I even for a moment fear ? " 

When he had recovered sufficiently, he turned his 
spare time and his talents to account, and secured the 



68 



In the Theological Seminary 



position of organist in Dr. Burchard's church, tutored 
his young cousins, and at the age of twenty-one lectured 
in various churches on Palestine and other subjects. 

Financial straits involved important discipline and 
taught Pierson to value money as one of the requi- 
sites for effective service. At this time also came 
his first lessons in giving out of all proportion to his 
income. He caught a glimpse of the unlimited re- 
sources of his Great Captain which enabled Him to 
supply every need of His followers. When Mr. Pierson 
had secured the position of organist, which brought him 
in $150 a year, he wrote that all his worldly wishes 
were fulfilled since he could now be somewhat inde- 
pendent. " The situation I consider a gift from God 
and as such I shall appropriate at least one-fifteenth of 
the salary to His work." 

The summer vacations were spent in preaching and 
in evangelistic work and as a result Pierson returned 
to the seminary in his senior year with $100 to his 
credit. It was the largest amount he had ever possessed 
at one time and the questions arose : Should he use 
it all for his own necessities and long desired comforts ; 
should he save a part of it for future needs ; should he 
enjoy the luxury of giving to those he loved or should 
he " lend to the Lord " and trust Him for the future ? 
How he answered these questions is best described in his 
own words : 

" I found myself in possession of my first one hun- 
dred dollars as the result of my summer work. My 
board and lodging were otherwise provided for, so that 
I felt free to 6 salt down ' the precious gold against a 
day of future need or indulgence. Greed had uncon- 
sciously begun to tighten its grip upon me. For the 



A Lesson in Giving 



6 9 



first time in my life I tasted the luxury of hoarding 
money and the taste was sweet. 

"Just then another young man — a dear personal 
friend — came to the seminary to begin his theological 
studies. A few days later I learned accidentally (or 
providentially) that he had only fifty cents left. He 
had come from a home of poverty, without funds, in the 
hope that the city would afford an opportunity for out- 
side employment, but he had been disappointed. His 
money was exhausted but he made no complaint and 
his face was unclouded by doubt or anxiety. That 
hoarded one hundred dollars began to trouble me and 
the battle between greed and grace began. The 
thought kept persistently recurring: I have money 
and no immediate need and this other child of God has 
dire need and no money. I consulted my Bible — that 
ever faithful guide-book — until I was convinced that 
God taught His children not to hoard earthly treasure, 
but to use what they have for the relief of the desti- 
tute and to trust Him for the supply of future needs. 
This teaching is unpopular but it is Scriptural and I 
could not gainsay it. After much thought and prayer 
I decided to give my friend one-half the money as a 
loan. I told him that I had no present use for it, and 
added that if, as my own funds became exhausted, 
God Himself should supply my need, the loan would 
become a gift ; if not, he could repay it as he was 
able. 

" This was not a very bold venture perhaps, but it 
was a beginning in the primary school of faith. Now 
mark the result. After spending what I had held in 
reserve, there were four separate occasions on which I 
needed a part of the loan to buy clothes or other actual 



7° 



In the Theological Seminary 



necessities. In each case on the very day and in the 
exact amount required my wants were supplied. Thus 
God repaid the entire loan through friends who knew 
nothing of the cireumstances, and I was able to tell my 
friend that the debt was cancelled. " 

This first lesson was never unlearned. It relaxed the 
giver's love for gold and taught him how to transmute 
material things into spiritual power. About this time 
he wrote in his diary : 6 6 This morning I feel like trac- 
ing a memorial of God's goodness. Uncle John has 
invited me to make my home with him without ex- 
pense. All my wants are thus supplied for some time 
to come. In my religious life too I seem blessed of 
God and enjoy one continuous smile. If I were only a 
holier man I would ask nothing more, and with God's 
help that shall be my constant aim. So happy am I 
that I often think it may not be the design of God to 
spare me long." 

But a mercurial temperament did not permit him to 
remain long in such a state of exaltation. Ill health, 
the criticisms of friends, failure to secure what he felt 
to be his due, or the yielding to some temptation of 
pride or ambition often cast him down again into the 
depths for a period. But on the whole there was 
progress, and each experience taught him some new 
lesson of his own weakness or of God's strength. 

Among the extra-curriculum courses during these days 
of preparation were the opportunities to attend musicals 
and lectures, and these he turned to good account. 
Classical music was his delight, and lectures such as 
those by Wm. Lloyd Garrison, Edward Everett, and 
others gave him many practical points on the use and 
abuse of the powers of thought and speech. On several 



The Influence of Wendell Phillips 71 

occasions he heard Wendell Phillips speak in Cooper 
Institute on the subject of human slavery and on other 
topics and thus describes the result : 

"The man that moulded my ideas of oratory and 
taught me the necessity of having something to say 
and of knowing how to say it, simply and effectively, 
was Wendell Phillips. He had great oratorical powers 
and great charm. When I first heard him he talked 
so quietly that I thought he was giving us only the in- 
troduction and that the lecture proper would soon be- 
gin. When he sat down I found to my surprise that 
he had been speaking for an hour and a quarter. To 
me it seemed fifteen minutes. It was marvellous how 
he held the people. I heard him many times and 
studied his wonderful simplicity and directness. I 
came to the conviction that he had a deep moral basis 
for his oratory and never said anything for artistic or 
dramatic effect. He had been converted under Lyman 
Beecher's preaching and made up his mind that as God 
had created him, He had a right to all his faculties and 
talents and he determined to use them for God." 

The first attempts at preaching by the young theo- 
logue were in 1858 in a little church at Fiftieth Street 
and Broadway, New York. He also preached fre- 
quently at Green Village, near Chatham, New Jersey, 
where as a boy he had been accustomed to spend his 
summers. Quite appropriately for a young man of his 
energy his first sermon was on " Christian Activity " 
(Titus iii. 8). His second sermon was on " Kest " (Mat- 
thew xi. 28). His own pastor, Dr. Burchard, took a 
great interest in the young man and pointed out many 
opportunities for service. He was a ready speaker and 
had no hesitation in making impromptu addresses if 



7 2 



In the Theological Seminary 



necessary. One good elder in the Thirteenth Street 
Church remarked to him one day : 

" You will do well, young man ; all you need is the 
bit and bridle on you." 

One of his seminary classmates, Eev. A. L. Clark, 
says that he was a faithful student of the Bible, and 
was regarded as the ablest sermonizer in his class. 
Pierson himself says : "In the seminary we were drilled 
in the analysis and illustration of texts, but preaching 
in the power of the Holy Spirit is one of the things 
that God alone can teach." 

Considerable success had attended Mr. Pierson's 
preaching in neighbouring towns and there had been 
several professed conversions. Dr. Hitchcock proposed 
to take him as an assistant pastor, but he preferred to 
be independent and accepted another call as temporary 
supply for the Congregational church in West Winsted, 
Connecticut, at $15.00 a week. Here he preached until 
after the close of his seminary course, and in this field 
he learned something of his own strength and weak- 
ness. The trustees, naturally perhaps, distrusted some 
of the views of the young theologue and they had been 
in power too long to change their course at his dicta- 
tion. The result was considerable friction and little 
progress. The Winsted church did not at this time ask 
Mr. Pierson to remain as pastor, but at the farewell 
meeting they showed keen regret at his departure. 

" Everybody cried and heads were bowed," says the 

journal. " Mr. B thanked me for preaching so 

plainly. Had a long talk with C as to things that 

had hindered my usefulness, among which he men- 
tioned — too familiar with clerks, too frank to speak 
of myself, too incautious. I have given the impression 



Beginning to Preach 



73 



of egotism by saying some things that other men are 
shrewd enough to keep to themselves." 

This congregation gave him a call a little later but it 
was not unanimous and he refused. After an examina- 
tion in Hebrew which Dr. Riggs pronounced the best 
that he had ever heard, Pierson was licensed to 
preach on April 3, 1860. The following month he was 
graduated from the seminary and was ordained as an 
evangelist, although this was against the general prac- 
tice of the presbytery. The ordination charge by Dr. 
Walter Clarke made a deep impression on his mind. 

" Dr. Clarke bade me remember," he says, " that I 
was from that hour a minister first of the Word of 
God ; second, of the Lord Jesus Christ ; third, of the 
Holy Spirit ; fourth, of the Church of God, and fifth, to 
the souls of men. That half hour speech affected my 
whole life. I have always taken especial joy in the 
fact that I was set apart to the work of an evangelist 
and I have never forgotten that fact in my ministry. 
Every pastor should be an edifier of saints and a saver 
of souls." 



V 



FIEST CHARGE AT BINGHAMTON— TESTING 
HIS WEAPONS 

MAEEIAGE is a divine institution and in one 
man and one woman truly united in heart 
and soul, in love and in loyal service to God, 
we see the ideal unit of the human race, for " in the 
image of God created He them male and female." 
Together, these two made one, can do a work for their 
Creator which would be impossible for either to accom- 
plish alone. But without agreement in " the things of 
the Lord " there can be no true unity in the home and 
no lasting happiness. 

In his choice of Sarah Frances Benedict as his future 
wife, Arthur Pierson was unconsciously guided by an 
all- wise Father. His betrothed was as quiet and retir- 
ing as her fiance was active and aggressive. By edu- 
cation and home training she was well fitted to be a 
minister's wife, and love prepared her to share his lot 
in poverty or in wealth. Positive ideals and quiet per- 
suasion enabled her to influence her husband by loving 
words and ways rather than by willful self-assertion. 
After four years of close acquaintance these two heart 
mates were married, July 12, 1860, by Kev. Joseph W. 
Pierson, a brother of the groom. 

Thus began a happy half century of true union. 
The husband found in his wife one who did not allow 
personal preference to hinder service. Her economy 
and industry relieved him of many cares and her tact 

74 



Marriage to Miss Benedict 



75 



saved him from many an awkward predicament in his 
pastoral work. His marriage gave the young clergy- 
man freer access to homes in his parishes and made his 
home a haven of hospitality. In her husband, the wife 
found a faithful protector and companion, one who, 
while in every sense head of the house, made it his 
aim to cherish his wife and to assist in the training of 
his children. Together they learned the truth of God's 
marital mathematics that when two are one, joys are 
multiplied and sorrows are divided, and that in Chris- 
tian work, if one alone can chase a thousand cares and 
troubles, two-made-one can put ten thousand to flight. 

"While on their wedding trip Mr. Pierson received calls 
both to West Winsted, Connecticut, and to the First 
Congregational Church at Binghamton, New York. 
The latter invitation was unanimous and urgent and 
seemed to offer the better opportunity for service ; he 
therefore wrote his acceptance. 

Binghamton was an attractive town of some ten 
thousand inhabitants, prettily situated on the banks of 
the Chenango Kiver. It was well supplied with churches 
but laxity in life and the lack of harmony among pro- 
fessing Christians made it a difficult and needy field. 
Hither came the young ambassador and soldier to test 
his ammunition and try the spiritual weapons that he 
had been gathering and learning to use. He was only 
twenty-three years of age, but his experience in preach- 
ing and the commendation of his friends led him to ex- 
pect a successful ministry. 

On Wednesday evening, September 5, 1860, Mr. 
Pierson was installed in a crowded church which held 
perhaps three hundred people. Prof. Benjamin F. 
Martin of the University of New York, who preached 



76 First Charge at Binghamton 



the sermon from Ezekiel iii. 17-19, urged the young 
pastor, as the herald of the Almighty, to faithfulness and 
fearlessness in warning his people. Kev. Thomas K. 
Beecher, of Elmira, a brother of Henry Ward Beecher, 
gave some wholesome advice to the people — advice which 
is not yet out of date. He reminded them that they 
should trust their pastor and give him freedom of con- 
science as one responsible to God and not to them ; (2) 
that his family life was to be sacred and not subject to 
gossip or intrusion ; that the wife was not to be expected 
to lead in everything — since she had married her hus- 
band, not the parish ; (3) that it was as incumbent on the 
people to live the Gospel as it was the duty of the pas- 
tor to preach it. " Living epistles have even more in- 
fluence in a community than spoken sermons. The 
world has a right to ask the Church not only for a dis- 
play of its machinery and a statement of what it can do, 
but for samples of its products." 

The pastor began his ministry full of hope and en- 
thusiasm. His ideals were high and his energy was 
unfailing. He desired conversions and expected them. 
His first sermon showed the goal that he had set before 
him. It was on 1 Corinthians ii. 2 : "I determined not 
to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and 
Him crucified. " In this sermon, he set forth the sub- 
limity of Christ as the incarnate Son of God, as the re- 
vealer of the divine Father, as the perfect pattern for 
man, as the ideal friend and brother and the all-power- 
ful Redeemer. Christ was lifted up as the Crucified 
One who meets the deepest needs of the human soul. 

The resolve to put Christ first in everything was ad- 
hered to throughout his ministerial life. " Too many 
modern preachers," he says in one of these early ser- 



ARTHUR PIERSON, at seventeen 
daguerreotype taken during his college days 



Rules for Reading 



77 



mons, " are not content with using the plain Sword of 
the Spirit, which in its naked simplicity thrusts deep 
and cuts quickly. Scholars, instead, forge for them- 
selves swords of gold, diamond-hilted, that are brilliant 
but have neither point nor edge." So while this young 
swordsman sought beauty of style (in late years he 
thought he had done so too much) it was to bring out 
more clearly the keenness and power of the Word. He 
studied history, science, biography, poetry, philosophy, 
literature, that he might mould these into ammunition 
with which to fight battles for truth and against error. 

Some practical rules for reading, which he tested and 
found useful, are the following : 

1. First, never lose a valuable fact or a good thought. 
Make a note of it, preserve it, and put it into shape for 
future use. 

2. Never read a vile, coarse, or worthless book. Time 
is too short, character is too priceless. 

3. Never pass by a word, a reference to an historical 
or scientific fact, or anything else worth knowing, until it 
is understood. 

4. Mark in the books you read the matter contained 
in them. It has been my habit to indicate with a pen- 
cil on the margin of a book by single, double, or triple 
lines, and again by a line underscoring words and sen- 
tences, whatever I desire to have for ready reference 
and future use. Then, on the fly-leaves, I make a brief 
index, under subjects, of such portions of the contents 
as are specially valuable. 

5. Eead some books at least that tax all your powers. 
It may be well to read now and then books that do not 
by their contents particularly attract, and are what we 
call " dry reading," for the sake of learning concentra- 
tion of mental powers, of acquiring the voluntary ex- 
ercise of attention aside from attractive features that 
draw out our mental powers by fascination. 



First Charge at Binghamton 



6. Let reading be varied. After a philosophical 
work, the mind will, without fatigue, turn to romance, 
poetry, history, or biography. We rest in such a vari- 
ety of mental occupation, and not in absolute repose of 
mind. 

7. Ordinarily, do not buy a book which you do not 
need as a permanent possession. There is vanity in ac- 
cumulating a large library. There are comparatively 
few books that you will ever examine after you have 
once read them. Those few you want to keep, and 
keep at hand. 

At Binghamton Mr. Pierson looked older than his 
twenty-four years would lead one to expect and his high 
broad forehead, clear blue eyes and waving brown hair 
gave him an impressive appearance. His intellectual 
ability, his growing faith in the Scriptures and his sense 
of responsibility as an ambassador of God added dig- 
nity to his manner and authority to his message. 

In the pulpit the pastor spoke plain words to his 
people, for in all his ministry he believed that straight 
shots are the only ones that can be counted on to hit 
the mark. He was not given to shooting at random nor 
with bullets made of putty. In the evening of his first 
Sunday after the installation he preached on " The Pas- 
tor's Keception," and took his text from John xiii. 20, 
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that receiveth 
whomsoever I send, receiveth Me." This struck an- 
other key-note in his conception of the minister as an 
ambassador of Christ entitled to attention and respect 
(2 Cor. v. 18). He said : 

" A minister is not to lord it over his flock. An un- 
sanctifled pride of office is nowhere more repulsive than 
in a Christian minister. . . . Yet by virtue of his 



Some Ministerial Ideals 



79 



post and profession, a measure of dignity invests his ad- 
vice in spiritual matters. . . . He is a man like 
men fallible. . . . But he is professionally a stu- 
dent of spiritual things and on these subjects it ought 
to be presumed that he is right until it can be shown 
that he is wrong. . . . Otherwise measures over 
which a pastor has studied long and earnestly may be 
defeated by the crude and ignorant opposition of some 
layman." 

He asked his people, if they took exception to his 
public utterances, to use the right of private remon- 
strance, and when possible to speak words of encour- 
agement. " It is a sin to flatter a preacher with com- 
pliments," he said, " but to tell him that his sermon 
led you to the Cross or saved you from danger or 
brought comfort to your soul, helps to make life 
sweeter." 

Few people realize how they tempt a minister to 
glorify self by pleasant but unwise compliments on the 
sermon he has just delivered. All through his early 
life, Mr. Pierson fought the temptation to accept for 
himself the praise due to God alone, and many an ab- 
rupt or cold reply to an enthusiastic admirer was the 
honest effort of a beset soul to avoid what seemed an 
ambuscade of the enemy. The nervous exhaustion and 
physical drain of preaching were often so great that he 
felt it necessary to slip quietly away and be alone after 
he had delivered his message. 

In later years he expressed the same conviction that 
influenced him in youth : 

" So long as an ambassador of Jesus Christ confines 
himself within the limits of his instructions the whole 
authority of the Godhead is behind him. I am grieved 



80 First Charge at Binghamton 



when I see ministers descending from the lofty pedestal 
of an ambassador for Christ, to talk about what other 
men can deal with just as well, and sacrificing their 
dignity thereby." 

In the beginning of his ministry, the pastor thus 
realized some of his responsibility and the dignity of 
his office. Like David, he also determined not to go to 
war with weapons that he had not tested. "I re- 
solved," he said, " that I would not preach on any sub- 
ject that had not been opened up to me by some persona] 
experience. A man may exhort others to believe and 
obey the Word of God that is as yet beyond his own 
full experience, but he cannot preach with power that 
which he does not believe and endeavour to practice." 

Not long after he had raised the standard in this 
field the fight began to wax hot. As the uncompromis- 
ing character of the pastor became known, enemies began 
to test the strength of his armour. He found himself 
the target for a fusillade from infidels who sent him 
pamphlets and books by the score in their efforts to find 
a joint in his harness. Under the guise of a desire to 
ask him to solve perplexities, these unbelievers sought to 
lodge doubts in his mind as to the truth of Christianity. 
Mr. Pierson was unable to meet these attacks at first, 
for he had learned to use the weapons forged by others. 
From his parents and teachers he had come to believe 
the doctrines of the Church, but now he saw that the 
basis for his faith must be investigated. For a time his 
confidence in the inspiration of the Bible, the Deity of 
Christ and even in his own salvation was severely 
shaken. He became alarmed but refused to beat a re- 
treat. Instead he determined to take refuge under the 
banner of his Master while he built anew his fortifica- 



Infidel Attacks Repelled 8l 



tions, refitted his armour and looked well to his ammuni- 
tion. He began to study systematically the " reason for 
the faith " that was in him and tested the foundations 
and the superstructure. It was not long before earnest, 
prayerful study of the evidences had established him 
so firmly that his faith in the eternal verities was never 
again shaken. Attacks which were meant to weaken 
were used by God to strengthen him. After one of the 
periods of doubt he wrote : " My gloom lasted for 
days, but was then dispersed by a most marked com- 
munication of the Holy Spirit, conducting me to a full 
assurance of faith. It was an uncommon experience 
of the grace of God." 

This study of Christian evidences led him to say : 
" My reason was convinced at that time largely by the 
argument from prophecy. I came to the conclusion 
that the Bible is indeed the Word of God and I was 
prepared to receive it, with all its apparent errors and 
contradictions, and to wait calmly for their explanation 
either here or hereafter. It was a great day for me 
when I learned to stand on the immutable Word of the 
immutable God, on the inspired Word of the inspiring 
God. This Word has brought to millions salvation and 
sanctification and no weapon that has been formed 
against it shall prosper. ... I was now prepared 
to expect some mystery in God's Word, as I saw that 
otherwise I would be claiming equality with Him. I 
found that to understand the Bible rightly I must be 
taught by the Spirit of God and not lean to my own 
understanding." 

This battle won and his armour tested the soldier was 
ready to lead a charge. He began to seek out the 
unconverted men and women of his congregation and 



82 First Charge at Binghamton 



to point them to Christ. On various occasions we find 
in his diary the record of those who rose for prayer, or 
of " blessed prayer-meetings when all kneeled at the 
close " and when the Spirit seemed present in power. 
A class of young people from the Sunday-school was 
formed to meet on Saturday afternoons that they might 
be instructed for church-membership. Then interest 
and attendance increased, and the congregation voted 
to observe a day of fasting and prayer. This plan was 
carried out with unmistakable evidences of God's pres- 
ence. Husbands, sons, and daughters for whom special 
prayer had been offered were converted and united 
with the church. Candidates for membership were 
asked the following questions : 

1. What reason have you for believing that you are 
a child of God ? 

2. Why do you desire to unite with the church ? 

3. What assurance have you that you will be faith- 
ful? 

4. What do you propose to do for God in your 
Christian life ? 

Each candidate was also asked to assent to a care- 
fully written "Confession of Faith," which covered 
statements about the Trinity, the Bible, the Sabbath, 
the Eesurrection and Judgment, man's sinful state and 
his only hope of redemption in Jesus Christ. All new 
members covenanted to study the Word, to forsake 
the world, to attend the church and to live a truly 
Christian life. 

In his enthusiasm the young minister was confident 
that in a short time his whole church would be con- 
verted, that Binghamton would be transformed and 
that the world would be brought to Christ in his life- 



Shots that Struck Home 83 



time. He preached with enthusiasm and faith but he 
found that only here and there were men and women 
gathered into the church. The great mass of people 
appeared to be untouched, for when he preached on 
the dishonesty and iniquities practiced in public and 
private life, while some were moved to confession, 
others were offended. On one occasion he preached 
from Isaiah i. 13 on the subject of " Iniquitous Solem- 
nities." In this sermon he examined unrighteous 
motives which led people to the Lord's house, and 
experienced some unpleasant results from speaking the 
truth. 

Evidently some of the shots struck home, for he wrote 
in his diary : " To-day I endured a personal excoriation 
for preaching what I believed to be the truth. I knew 
that it would strike right and left and it did. After- 
wards I felt sad and gloomy — doubtful whether it were 
best to preach so plainly." 

The objection to the sermon was, in fact, so strong on 
the part of some of the congregation that Kev. George 
Overhiser, a friendly clergyman who attended his 
church, took an opportunity to speak to the people in 
public and to commend the pastor for his courageous 
utterance. It "requires more nerve and grace," he 
reminded them, " to face men and to lay bare their 
faults than it does to face the cannon's mouth." 

The inexperienced young preacher was learning how 
subtle are some of the attacks made on the church and 
on the individual Christian. Unfortunately all the ene- 
mies did not fight in the open and too many of them were 
in the camp itself. In the Binghamton Church there 
were two hostile parties who would not even sit on the 
same side of the church. The distressed young pastor la- 



84 First Charge at Binghamton 



boured with each prayerfully in his endeavour to aff ect a 
reconciliation, but it was in vain. He says : " I was at 
last impelled to ask the Lord either to heal this hindering 
breach or to take me away. It was not long before 
one of the leaders in the strife was taken ill and died ; 
the landlord of another raised his rent and the man 
moved away ; the third lost his standing through scan- 
dal and so all the contestants were put out of com- 
mission." By this signal and literal answer to prayer 
Mr. Pierson learned that he could trust the Great Com- 
mander Himself to solve many difficulties that baffle 
human skill. 

Early in the fifties, modern spiritualism had its birth 
in Kochester, a city about one hundred and fifty miles 
from Binghamton. The cult was spreading and Bing- 
hamton boasted the possession of a spirit medium. Here 
was a new enemy to be reckoned with, and one likely 
to do damage among the more ignorant members of 
the church. There was in Mr. Pierson's congrega- 
tion a devout woman who for many years had been 
a leader in good works. After her husband died 
some one told her that he was appearing at a neigh- 
bouring seance night after night and was calling her. 
At first she refused to listen to these stories but at last 
she determined to go and see. " I do not really be- 
lieve in these things," she said, " but what harm can 
come from looking into it ? I will ask him to tell what 
happened on the 19th of March, I860." She attended 
the seance and the reply came from the medium: 

" That was our wedding day and we went to C 

to celebrate it." The answer staggered the wife, for 
no one in the audience but herself knew the fact. The 
result was that before many weeks had passed she had 



Experience With Spiritualism 85 

become entangled in spiritualism, had lost her interest 
in the church, and deserted the prayer-meeting for the 
seance. The young pastor reasoned with her from the 
Scriptures and he himself invaded the enemies' camp, 
attending a course of spiritualist lectures and debates 
that he might study and counteract its influence. His 
people profited by his investigation and the straying 
member was finally won back by the clear teaching of 
God's Word. She, herself, gave this striking testi- 
mony : 

"I found that their teachings and practices were 
contrary to the Word of God and I said to myself : I 
cannot explain these mysteries but I can test them by 
the Scripture principle — if a prophet shall perform a 
sign or wonder in your eyes either by predicting future 
events or by performing some inexplicable wonder, if 
he teach anything contrary to the Word of God, then 
he is a false prophet and not to be followed." 

Mr. Pierson himself learned, by this experience, to 
"try the spirits whether they be of God," and was 
saved from following many false trails and false teach- 
ers. He steadfastly refused to consider any philosophy 
or practice, however plausible, that was contrary to the 
teachings of the Bible or that led to less devotion to 
Jesus Christ. 

During these first years in the pastorate at Bingham- 
ton various forms of organizations were attempted, 
some of which are of interest. " A Maternal Associ- 
ation " was founded for the purpose of training children 
in the " nurture and admonition of the Lord." It was 
the forerunner of the present day " Mothers' Circles," 
and " Mothers of the Temple." The members met 
once a month to read books, pray and converse on child 



86 First Charge at Binghamton 



conversion and child training. Each mother pledged 
"to pray for her children daily and with them 
frequently, to set them a right example, and in every 
way to perform faithfully the arduous duties of a 
Christian mother." 

No doubt the pastor felt special interest in this 
organization since in his own house there had been two 
additions to the family circle. The arrival of these 
little daughters added to the joy but also to the problems 
of the household. The Civil War had just broken out 
and the cost of living was extremely high. Mr. 
Pier son's aged parents had come to make their home 
with their son and the father was an almost helpless 
paralytic. During these hard times the promised 
salary of one thousand dollars was seldom paid promptly 
and as a result the pastor's family knew economy and 
even hunger. When house rent, doctor's bills, food 
and other necessaries had been paid for, it was difficult 
to keep the balance from being on the wrong side of 
the ledger. But Arthur Pierson hated debt as he 
hated sin and many days the family lived on oatmeal 
and potatoes or had nothing but pea soup to set before a 
dinner guest. They could not even afford ten cents for 
fruit. Apparently the trustees expected their pastor to 
" work on earth and board in heaven." 

Finally he was forced to write to the trustees a letter 
calling attention to the long overdue salary. " I have 
lived this year," he said, " under great pecuniary em- 
barrassment. For my own suffering I care nothing, 
though I have gone for a month without ten cents in 
my pocket. I was forced to go to housekeeping because 
of the increase in my family, but even with my house- 
hold of six I might have met my debts if the money 



Reasons for Resignation 



87 



due me had been paid on time. The church has owed 
me two hundred and fifty dollars for over two months 
and my creditors are suffering as well as I. . . . 
Privations I am willing to endure, but I feel that to be 
everywhere in debt damages my influence and my 
work suffers. If the church cannot pay one thousand 
dollars let them say what sum they can give and I will 
reply whether I can accept it, but what is promised 
must be punctually paid." 

Before long other questions arose involving strategy 
and cooperation in the local campaign. The First Con- 
gregational Church, to which he ministered, had been 
established, on a mistaken policy of rivalry, near to the 
larger Presbyterian house of worship. There was no 
need for both churches in that neighbourhood, but there 
was an opportunity for a church across the river. The 
young pastor did everything in his power to strengthen 
his church but he was enough of a general to see the 
mistake that had been made, and to advise his people 
to move. This they hesitated to do because of their 
money invested and the expense involved in a change 
of centre. Some wished to remain where they were, 
others favoured dissolution, but Mr. Pierson determined 
that the only right course was to move and so save the 
church. His stand showed Christian faith, courage and 
common sense. He had a growing family dependent 
on him and was without other means of support or any 
other field in view, but in order to relieve his people 
from the necessity of paying his salary, he resigned his 
charge on January 4, 1863, with the understanding 
that they should sell the church property, pay their 
debts and move across the river. 

The ecclesiastical council convened and advised that 



88 First Charge at Binghamton 



the pastoral relations be continued on the ground that 
one Congregational church should be maintained in 
Binghamton, and also because the " present pastoral 
relations had been marked by an unusual degree of 
mutual attachment and good will and promised most 
desirable fruitfulness." They, however, advised the 
church's removal to the west side of the Chenango 
River. After some further consideration the pastor's 
resignation was accepted on account of "pecuniary 
necessity," and the relationship was dissolved with 
mutual regret. The advice of Mr. Pierson was followed, 
the church was transplanted, revived and became one 
of the strongest Congregational organizations in New 
York State — outside of the metropolis. 

A comparison between Mr. Pierson's sermons at 
Binghamton and those of later years shows wonderful 
growth. He was not then the profound expository 
preacher and ardent evangelist that he afterwards be- 
came, but he showed some of the characteristics that 
were strengthened and developed in later years. His 
habits of Bible study had not matured, but his sermons 
were Biblical and practical. He depended for impres- 
sion on facts as revealed in the Bible and in daily life 
rather than on emotional stories or elaborate ornamenta- 
tion. The sermons were informing, inspiring and fear- 
less, and often dealt with sins and with truth that made 
some of his congregation wince. 

The two years and a half spent in Binghamton proved 
that the young minister could preach without fear or 
favour, but he learned that the truth must be spoken in 
love. Perhaps he had not yet accustomed himself to 
give due regard to the right of private judgment on the 
part of others, and needed to learn by experience that 



Some Lessons Learned 



89 



even a pastor with a divine commission will succeed 
better if he seeks to lead rather than to drive his flock. 
His sermons on slavery and the Civil War made some 
enemies, but when he preached to a company of soldiers 
en route to the field of battle the church was crowded 
to the doors morning and evening. 

In Binghamton Mr. Pierson also learned the value of 
organization and cooperation and laid emphasis on per- 
sonal work and on the religious training of the young. 
He was perhaps somewhat less self-confident when he 
left Binghamton, but his confidence in God had in- 
creased and he adopted as his life motto the words of the 
Apostle Paul in the Epistle to the Galatians (ii. 20) : 
Non ego sed Christus (" Not I but Christ "). 

"In preaching the Gospel," he said, "I desire to 
preach not myself but Christ Jesus, the Lord, and 
myself your servant for Jesus' sake. I desire never 
to preach a sermon of which Christ shall not be the 
beginning, the centre and the end. ... I pray 
that all my powers and energies may be simply and 
earnestly directed towards Him and His glory." 

The lessons taught by poverty had been valuable but 
unpleasant and there had been temptations to increase 
his slender income by engaging in secular pursuits. 
He determined however to permit nothing to interfere 
with his main business and would not even allow op- 
portunities to lecture or requests for articles from his 
ready pen to turn his attention from his ministry to 
men's spiritual needs. He wrote and spoke frequently 
on many themes, but these were only the overflowing of 
the cup. 

In the summer following his removal from Bingham- 
ton Mr. Pierson's brother Joseph and his father both 



90 First Charge at Binghamton 

died and thereafter his mother made her home with her 
son Arthur, who for thirty-two years continued lov- 
ingly to minister to her comfort. 

When he resigned his Binghamton pastorate, Mr. 
Pierson rather expected that, when the church had 
become established in its new location, they would 
recall him, but God had other plans. On the same 
Sunday when he resigned in Binghamton a much loved 
pastor in a distant town in the same state preached his 
last sermon and was soon after suddenly called Home. 
Later the eyes and hearts of the afflicted people were 
providentially turned towards Mr. Pierson, God thus 
releasing one servant to fill the place made vacant by 
the departure of another called to his reward. After a 
summer spent in supplying the Congregational Church 
at Norwalk, Connecticut, he received a unanimous call 
to Waterf ord, New York. 



VI 



THE WATEEFOED PASTOEATE — A BEOADEE 
VISION 

THE change from Binghamton to Waterford 
was an important event in Mr. Pierson's life, 
for it meant a change from the Congregational 
to the Presbyterian ranks. But it was a return to his 
mother church and therein he spent the next thirty- 
three years of his ministry. 

Waterford, whither he was called in August, 1863, 
was an attractive town on the banks of the Hudson 
River, a few miles from Troy. He saw in this invita- 
tion a greater opportunity for service, for the church 
was larger, the work was better established, and the 
general spirit more aggressive. To the salary of $1,000, 
paid quarterly, was added a parsonage with grounds 
running down to the river and an abundance of fruit 
trees. On October 6th he was duly installed, and on 
this occasion Prof. M. R. Vincent preached a sermon 
which sounded yet another key-note in the pastor's 
ministry. The theme was " Christian Action " — a true 
soldier's ideal — and Professor Vincent emphasized the 
folly of a church allowing their attention to be diverted 
by disputes and trivial technicalities while a perishing 
world is waiting for help and salvation. The one great 
question is, " How can we best save souls ? " 

Mr. Pierson brought to his work all the enthusiasm 
of a young man of twenty-six — and a minister's second 
charge usually benefits much by his first experience. 

9 1 



9 2 



The Waterford Pastorate 



The field had been especially prepared also by the faith- 
ful work accomplished by the previous pastor, the Rev. 
Mr. Lee, a rare spirit greatly beloved by his people. 

Into this field, to take up the work laid down by such 
a predecessor, Mr. Pierson entered with all his heart 
and soul. He is described by his contemporaries at 
this time as "a wide-awake speaker who did not be- 
lieve in following the old beaten track made by our 
fathers to the neglect of more modern methods and ad- 
vanced ideas." He was of nervous temperament, ex- 
tremely intense in whatever he did. When he entered 
upon a course he did not allow himself to be diverted 
until he reached his goal. He seemed always in haste, 
and neighbours who heard his front door close would 
often look up just in time to see him disappear around 
the corner. He was known as " a man of one idea at 
a time " — the work he was doing absorbed all his at- 
tention. One evening he accompanied an elder of the 
church to his home, discussing a topic of deep interest 
to them both, and in order to come to some clear un- 
derstanding in the matter went into the elder's house. 
After a lengthy conversation, Mr. Pierson suddenly be- 
came conscious that he was sitting on something un- 
usual ; he arose and thrusting his hand in his coat tail 
pocket, exclaimed with astonishment : " There is a steak 
for my dear wife," and taking his hat immediately, he 
made a hurried departure. 

When his thoughts were on a sermon theme or pas- 
toral problem, passing events made little impression on 
him, so that he often met members of his church in the 
street and passed them without a sign of recognition. 
This was a source of annoyance to them and caused him 
deep regret. When, however, his parishioners came to 



Personal Characteristics 



93 



understand the reason they readily forgave the seeming 
slights. Others were not always so forgiving and he 
suffered all his life from the results of such misunder- 
standings. This same power of concentration, however, 
enabled him to accomplish much that would have been 
difficult otherwise. His family increased in "Waterford 
by the addition of a girl and a boy, and as the nursery 
was never far from the study in his home, for years few 
sermons were written without the accompaniment of 
childish prattle. The only time when the doors were 
locked against intrusion was when "father was at 
prayer." 

While he was sustained by a sense of his own right 
purpose, he was keenly conscious of personal failings 
and constant temptation so that prayer was indeed his 
" vital breath." On his birthday in 1867 he wrote : " I 
am thirty years old to-day — just the age when the 
Saviour began His public ministry. I solemnly cove- 
nant to overcome, by God's help, two especially beset- 
ting sins which interfere with my spirituality and use- 
fulness. Every day must see new victories over self 
and for Christ." 

As a preacher, even at this early period, he was 
versatile and forceful. His aggressive thought-com- 
pelling sermons aroused to action, and he became 
widely known as an unusually clear and inspiring 
teacher of the Bible. At his Sunday afternoon class 
there was an attendance of from 160 to 200 people and 
his novel and informal method of free discussion drew 
many from all parts of the town. He came into sym- 
pathetic touch with all classes in his parish, wrote 
rhymes and made out humorous programs for his 
young people and composed long poems for the post- 



94 The Waterford Pastorate 



men and messenger boys to present as New Year greet- 
ings to their patrons. 

Many members of the congregation were devout and 
intelligent Christian men and women and contact with 
them meant much to the growing man. At the time of 
the centennial celebration of the church in 1904 Dr. 
Pierson wrote : " I owe much of my own enthusiasm 
for missions to my six years in this church. It was 
most active and aggressive in this department of serv- 
ice. It had its own missionary in the field and kept in 
living contact with him by correspondence, gifts and 
prayer. This missionary atmosphere I breathed with 
immense profit and I was compelled either to lead my 
people in missionary work or to resign my pastorate. 
My real missionary education began here in a church 
far ahead of me in intelligence and enthusiasm for God's 
work. 

" I found myself to be lacking in my knowledge of 
missionary history and biography and set myself to 
gather new facts through the study of missions, the 
trials and the triumphs. Thus I began to see more 
clearly, on the one hand, the awful spiritual destitution 
of the world and on the other hand the perfect adapta- 
tion of the Gospel to human need. I began to feel 
more and more my previous ignorance and lamentable 
indifference, while the conviction took deep root that 
the interest and zeal of a congregation cannot ordina- 
rily be expected to rise above the pastor's level. . . . 

" Perhaps it may be well to indicate the steps by 
which success was attained in awakening interest, 
arousing activity and stimulating larger gifts. First I 
gave a series of lectures on prominent fields where 
missionary work has proven the power of the Gospel 



Growing Missionary Interest 95 



to cope with the lowest forms of heathenism and the 
worst phases of vice and superstition. The Hawaiian 
Islands, the Karens of Burma, Fiji, Tahiti and Mada- 
gascar were successively treated. Then, one by one 
the various forms of false faiths were presented — Mo- 
hammedanism, paganism, Brahmanism, Confucianism, 
etc. — and were compared with Christianity. Glimpses 
of the past and present condition of each of the 
heathen nations enabled me to marshal} into array that 
grand host of facts which students of missionary his- 
tory have found to constitute the resistless logic of mis- 
sions and the overwhelming argument for a deeper 
devotion to the world's enlightenment. No man can 
study these subjects without his own missionary spirit 
burning with a fervour before unknown." 

The missionary fire kindled in Mr. Pierson's heart 
was at the same time a " refiner's fire," for he passed 
through one of the most intense struggles of his life as 
a logical result of his missionary studies. He was too 
sympathetic and too loyal to Christ to see a need without 
wishing to supply it and too sincere to advise others 
to respond to a call to a mission which he himself 
was unwilling to undertake. Of this experience he 
says: 

" As I studied the needs of the world and our Lord's 
commission I became conscious that I had never been 
true with God on the subject of consecration to mission- 
ary work. I wanted power in my ministry to convert 
souls at home, but I could get no peace with God until 
I reconsidered the entire question. I fell on my knees 
before God and asked Him to forgive me for the super- 
ficial manner in which I had considered the claims of 
the world upon me when I was in the theological semi- 



96 The Waterford Pastorate 



nary. I told Him that if He called me now to the 
foreign field I would leave my pastorate and, with my 
family, consecrate myself to this work." 

Thus the needed surrender was made but God did 
not require more at this time. The way was not 
opened to Mr. Pierson for service abroad, but wider 
doors of usefulness were thrown open at home, and 
because he had honestly faced the question, he was, in 
after years, the means of turning hundreds of young 
men and young women and thousands of dollars into 
the mission fields. 

But the far-sighted vision which came to be so char- 
acteristic did not by any means shut out the needs and 
responsibilities near at home. The work in Waterford 
suffered no neglect. Preaching and pastoral duties, the 
Sunday-school and the prayer-meeting received his 
closest attention, for he could not understand how any 
pastor who claimed to be evangelical could be anything 
else than evangelistic. In the Waterford church he 
found a prepared soil, ready for the sowing of the 
Word. Mr. Lee's sudden death had left his people very 
tender and the new pastor on the first Saturday even- 
ing with his flock appointed a special meeting for 
prayer for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. For six 
months they patiently waited on God until a few en- 
couraging signs of blessing appeared. The meetings 
that had been more or less of a formality became a de- 
light. One Sunday evening in March the congregation 
were so moved that they remained for an hour beyond 
the closing time, to confess their sins and to pray for 
power. Three weeks of preaching and prayer service 
followed and the church was filled every night. 
Thirty-two rose for prayer and most of them subse- 



Revival in Church and Sunday-School 



quently united with the church. In his diary the 
pastor says : 

" God is doing it all. We can see that the work 
seems to override ordinary agencies." 

Just two years later, after another season of prayer, 
a deep interest in their own and the world's need of 
Christ was awakened in the young people of the Sab- 
bath-school, of which the pastor was also superintend- 
ent. A special prayer-meeting was held after the 
school session, and all were invited to stay who wished 
to pray for God's blessing. Scarcely one left. Dr. 
Samuel E. House of Siam, who was at home on fur- 
lough, said a few quiet words and prayer was offered. 
There was nothing done to excite a child's mind, but 
the Holy Spirit's presence was evident. Of that Sun- 
day afternoon Mr. Pierson says : 

" Each teacher was asked to speak to each scholar on 
the subject of personal salvation. I never saw a more 
beautiful sight than the whole school melted to tears, 
talking quietly together about the soul and the Saviour. 
I moved from class to class with words of instruction 
and encouragement. Then one teacher arose and sug- 
gested that all stand who had resolved to make the de- 
cision of Joshua (about which they had been studying), 
< We will serve the Lord.' The entire congregation re- 
sponded and sang solemnly : 

" 4 Here, Lord, I give myself away, 
'Tisall that I can do.' 

" During the following week most of the pupils came 
by classes to talk with me in my study and at the next 
communion thirty-eight united with the church on con* 
fession of faith." 



98 The Waterford Pastorate 



The new communion table around which they gath- 
ered was the gift of the Sabbath-school. The spirit of 
earnestness spread to the church and resulted in the 
conversion of parents and friends. The distinguishing 
features of this revival are pointed out by the pastor in 
his diary as follows : 

" 1. A large increase in lay activity. Almost every 
silent member has received the gift of a tongue to tes- 
tify for Christ or to lead in prayer. . . . 

" 2. The prayer of faith receives immediate answer. 
Even friends at a distance are converted. 

" 3. The means used by the Holy Spirit are simple 
and direct. A few practical words of exposition, fol- 
lowed by prayer and exhortation. The general gath- 
erings are followed by separate meetings for men and 
women. I have called in no outside evangelist. My 
only colleagues are my own church-members. 

"4. God is wonderfully blessing those who put 
themselves at His disposal." 

This revival was followed by an increased spirit of 
giving and as fast as tithes came in the blessing in- 
creased. The foreign missionary offering that year 
was the largest in the history of the church and at the 
same time the contributions for congregational ex- 
penses were greatly increased. The church was re- 
modelled and enlarged to double its former capacity at 
the cost of $17,000, and every department of benevo- 
lence and activity was strengthened. 

The dedication of the renovated church was made 
memorable by the reception of forty-one members — the 
largest accession at any one communion in over twenty 
years. Husbands and wives met together at the Lord's 
table for the first time, and parents came led by their 



First Visit to Europe 



99 



believing children, so that families were made complete 
in Christ. 

The summer following the dedication of the remod- 
elled church Mr. Pierson made his first visit to Europe 
at the invitation of a friend, Mr. David Blake. He saw 
in this invitation a God-given opportunity for rest and 
education. 

They sailed from Boston on the steamship Cuba on 
July 18, 1866 — just at the time when all the civilized 
world was aflutter with the expectation of the comple- 
tion of the first transatlantic cable. As the Cuba 
neared the Irish shore a packet boat came out and Mr. 
Pierson asked for the news. He was told that the 
cable was completed and within a few hours the first 
message was flashed under the deep : " Glory to God 
in the highest and on earth peace, good will towards 
men." 

Judging from letters and diary, Mr. Pierson must 
have been a most enthusiastic visitor to all the new 
scenes so full of interest to him. Nothing escaped that 
eager eye and receptive mind. After a visit to the 
Crystal Palace, where there were elaborate reproduc- 
tions of ancient civilizations, he wrote : 

" I tried to keep calm but it wrought a fever in my 
blood, for I had no one with me into whose ears I could 
pour the overflow of my soul. It will take the rest of 
my life to tell all that is laid up in my mind and heart." 

He attended many churches and heard such famous 
preachers as Alexander McLaren of Manchester, New- 
man Hall and Charles H. Spurgeon of London. 

The visit to the great Metropolitan Tabernacle and 
his first sight of Spurgeon is worth recording, not only 
on account of his later associations with the work 



loo The Waterford Pastorate 



there, but because of the influence it exerted on his 
whole life and ministerial ideals. Of that visit he 
says: 

" On Sabbath morning, August 19, 1866, I crossed 
Blackfriars Bridge and leaving the Thames behind me, 
stood shortly as one of a large multitude before the 
door of a somewhat imposing building, not unlike an 
opera house. The building is so constructed that 
visitors, entering from the main vestibule, naturally 
turn to the gallery and are not ushered into the floor of 
an audience room already full. The impression is 
therefore that of a free church. 

" We had been seated but a few moments when the 
preacher walked forward and raised his hand to invoke 
divine blessing. A more unclerical looking man you 
could scarcely imagine as occupying a metropolitan 
pulpit. But when he began to speak the physical was 
forgotten in the intellectual and spiritual. I have 
known many people who were good-looking until they 
opened their mouths; Mr. Spurgeon becomes good 
looking when he opens his. 

" The service was lengthy but not long ; plain but in- 
teresting, and Mr. Spurgeon's method of lining out the 
psalms and hymns is primitive but effective. The music 
is led by a precentor, without choir or instruments. 
One part of the audience follows another, out of time, 
like a duck dragging a lame leg. Nevertheless I never 
heard such singing. It was like a great wave of praise 
surging up against the pillars of the throne of God. No 
matter how refined your ear, all offenses against the 
laws of art were forgotten in the impression of music 
in which there was such devotion. In comparison with 
it, all the splendid swell of the grandest organ, all the 



Charles H. Spurgeon 101 



finished culture of the costliest quartette are a parody 
on worship. 

" Mr. Spurgeon's praying was marvellous. I have 
heard from others more pathetic confession of sin, more 
fervent supplication, more importunate intercession, but 
never before such adoration. We seemed to stand be- 
fore God's throne and see His glory, to feel His power, 
wisdom and goodness smiting us with insufferable blind- 
ing splendour. 

" The reading of the Scripture occupied half an hour 
and was interspersed with short, pithy, helpful com- 
ments which served to make the meaning plain and 
practical. Before he came to the sermon we had re- 
ceived a blessing. Everything had been conducted as 
though it was intended to bring God near. There was 
no hurrying over preliminaries, as though to sing, to 
read the Word, to pray were mere forms by which the 
sermon is approached. Each part of the service was 
itself a sermon and produced definite spiritual impres- 
sions and results. 

"The sermon was preaching indeed, — it was the text 
expanded. One could not have said in this case that 
while ' the text was the gate to the Lord's garden the 
preacher, instead of going in, only got on it and swung 
to and fro.' 

" Whatever may be the secret, Mr. Spurgeon has prac- 
tically solved the problem : how to bring the multitude 
to the house of God. He is a prince among preach- 
ers. He is not a mere machine for talking or mar- 
rying, baptizing and burying people. He evidently 
aims to bring God's thoughts down to the minds and 
hearts and consciences of men. Nothing impressed me 
more than his simplicity and his entire freedom from 



102 The Waterford Pastorate 



all artificiality or affectation. He bends every power 
and purpose to reach and mould men for newness of 
life. How puerile some of the criticisms of this great 
man seem. He is the most effective preacher of the 
century and I rejoice to see a man who dares to know 
only the grand theme of ' Jesus Christ and Him cruci- 
fied ' have such a place filled with thousands of hear- 
ers." 

The letters written home during this trip to Europe 
reveal the man's wide interest in the things he saw and 
his deep love for home and family. He wrote hundreds 
of pages to wife and children to help them to enter with 
him into the pleasure and profit of sightseeing. He 
told them of the wiles of cab-drivers and of the mis- 
chievous retailers of misinformation. He had a rare 
vein of humour and while too serious to be a joker he 
greatly enjoyed and contributed to innocent fun. His 
own witticisms usually took the form of plays on words, 
as a certain family in his congregation discovered, when 
they good-naturedly took him to task for his propensity 
for puns. Their comments were rewarded a little later 
by a carefully collected book of samples of puns picked 
up from each member of this family — prepared with 
infinite care and illustrated with marginal drawings. 
The whole was entitled, " The Aversions and Diversions 
of the C family, with the compliments of A. T. P." 

Wood, tin and silver wedding celebrations in his own 
family or in those of his friends were occasions for 
many original programs, menus, puns and poems from 
his pen. These productions show much bright humour 
and ingenuity, and as master of ceremonies in such 
festivities he was in his element. 

The work at Waterford had prospered under his 



Some Tasks Completed 103 



ministry, during which one hundred and eleven 
members had been added to the church. All depart- 
ments were in a healthy condition, but the field was 
limited in its opportunities and the pastor saw provi- 
dential signs that the pillar of cloud and of fire was 
about to move. The climate had not been conducive 
to health and he felt that the work for which he had 
been specially sent to the church had been largely 
accomplished. He enumerates some of the tasks com- 
pleted : 

" The church has been remodelled and nearly paid 
for. The church services have been built up. The 
Sabbath-school has been reorganized. Missionary work 
has been strengthened with the monthly concert of 
prayer and the organization of field reports. There 
have been two pervasive revivals of religion. Pastoral 
work has been thoroughly systematized. The people 
have been incited to greater generosity in giving. The 
church manual has been completed." 

At this time invitations to other fields began to come 
from many directions, and he wrote for advice to Dr. 
Shaw of Eochester, his old time friend and counsellor 
of student days. Just before his letter reached Eochester 
another communication had come from the committee 
of the Fort Street Presbyterian Church of Detroit, 
Michigan, asking Dr. Shaw if he could recommend as 
pastor some man of growing spiritual power. He im- 
mediately answered : " Pierson of Waterford is your 
man." The committee made inquiries and sent a 
delegation not so much to hear the preacher as to learn 
what his townspeople and neighbours thought of him. 
The report was so favourable that the committee asked 
him to come to Detroit to preach, but Mr. Pierson was 



104 The Waterford Pastorate 



averse to candidating and refused. The Detroit 
committee then arranged for a stated supply who could 
not be considered a candidate and thus precluded the 
possibility of a divided church, while they patiently 
waited until Mr. Pierson could visit the field, on his 
way to meet an engagement in Chicago. When he did 
so he preached so acceptably that the committee immedi- 
ately moved to extend him a call. 

Still the question was not settled, for the chosen 
pastor had received overtures from many fields— Boston, 
Norwalk, Orange, Brooklyn, New York, Chicago and 
elsewhere. He examined the open door in Detroit 
carefully and was much attracted by the beautiful 
"City of the Straits." It was the metropolis of 
Michigan and its population of 80,000 was growing in 
wealth and influence. The broad streets lined with 
trees, the attractive homes, the parks and noble river 
that separates it from the Canadian shore, all made it 
a most desirable place in which to live and bring 
up a growing family. The salary of $3,000 was 
also a substantial increase in the income that had thus 
far supplied the minister's needs. The membership 
of the Fort Street Church was known as the most in- 
fluential, wealthy and aristocratic in the city, if not in 
the West, and there were many men of influence and 
fame among the members. B. A. Alger, afterwards 
Governor of Michigan and Secretary of War ; Senator 
Zachariah Chandler, James F. Joy, President of the 
Michigan Central Bailroad, J. D. Hayes of the Boyal 
Blue Line, Allan Sheldon and Ex-mayor Frederick Buhl, 
were all members and generous supporters of the church. 

But none of these things furnished a determining 
motive for removal from Waterford. The supreme 



The Call to Detroit 



105 



questions in Mr. Pierson's mind were : " Whither is God 
leading ? Where can I best serve my Lord ?" It was 
difficult to leave the village home where children had 
been born and to break ties which had grown stronger 
during seven years of labour, suffering and rejoicing 
together. 

He watched for providential leadings in even seem- 
ingly insignificant details and wrote them down care- 
fully that he might weigh them and pray over them. 
In this way he made a list of seventy-five reasons which 
led him to see in the Detroit call an expression of the 
will of God. His views of the situation are given in a 
letter to his wife written on the first visit to Detroit, 
January 19, 1869 : 

" If I have any confidence in the leadings of the 
most marked providence of my life, I must give an un- 
equivocal acceptance. I passed an almost sleepless night, 
my heart palpitating with solicitude, lest I should 
decide wrongly, but now I have no doubt as to my 
duty, for I believe that here I can accomplish twice as 
much for my Saviour. . . . Pray that I may not 
think of mere prominence of position but may really be 
so absorbed in His work that I shall be content with 
the lowliest sphere that I may serve Him more truly 
and efficiently. I am conscious that I need to sanct$y 
ambition rather than to crucify it." 

As a result of this deliberation, Mr. Pierson resigned 
his charge in Waterford on February 14, 1869, to 
accept the call to the Fort Street Presbyterian Church, 
Detroit, Michigan. 



YII 



AT FOET STEEET CHUECH, DETEOIT — A 
STEATEGIC CENTEE 

IN Binghamton, Mr. Pierson learned from practi- 
cal experience the value of the Word of God as a 
shield against doubt and as an arsenal from which 
to draw his spiritual weapons. In Waterford his hori- 
zon was broadened to include the world in his vision 
and his field of service. In Detroit he was to discover 
more effective methods of reaching men as individuals 
and in the mass. 

The Fort Street Church to which he was called 
worshipped in a beautiful stone Gothic structure con- 
sidered one of the " sights " of Detroit. It had been 
organized in 1849, and the building was completed in 
1855. Here Mr. Pierson found a congregation that 
had recently passed through some trying experiences 
and needed to be built up in numbers and in spiritual 
life. Of the two hundred and thirty-eight members 
on the roll many had drifted away and there were only 
eighty-two pewholders in a church accommodating 
eight hundred people. 

The field presented some difficulties, but there was 
an inspiring opportunity for hard, faithful work, and 
the cordial, united welcome of the people gave promise 
of abiding and far-reaching results. The new pastor's 
first Sunday in the pulpit put his self-possession to a 
severe test and might have awakened forebodings in 
any one of a superstitious temperament. Just as the 

106 



The Pastor's Program 



107 



choir were singing the first anthem there was an alarm 
of fire that nearly emptied the church. The minister 
kept his seat calmly and as the alarm proved false 
most of the people returned. The experience was not 
conducive, however, to self -poise, nor was the flutter- 
ing of a bird that flew around the auditorium at the 
evening service and threatened to divert attention 
from the worship. But these were in no sense evil 
omens — they might rather have foreshadowed a com- 
ing baptism of fire and a descent of the Holy Spirit to 
purify and stir that people into newness of life. 

Mr. Pierson was installed on May 5, 1869, and 
from the first proved to be the right man in the right 
place. Large opportunities for generalship in the church 
work called forth all his energy and latent ability, as 
we see from the list that he made of " Things to be 
accomplished by divine help." Later with character- 
istic system he entered in his journal the dates on which 
these desires were realized. Among the thirty objects 
mentioned are the following : 



1. Increase congregation and church-membership. 

2. Eeorganize the Sunday-school. 

3. Build up the evening service. 

4. Make a thorough pastoral visitation, 

5. Organize the young people. 

6. Introduce systematic benevolence. 

7. Start a mission school and church. 

8. Increase sociability among the members. 

9. Build up the prayer-meeting. 

10. Kevive the monthly concert of prayer for mis- 
sions. 

11. Induce people to take missionary papers. 

12. Kemodel the session and appoint stated meet* 



io8 At Fort Street Church, Detroit 



13. Establish a Bible class and teachers' meeting. 

14. Improve public worship and congregational 
singing. 

15. Induce all parents of the church to present 
children for baptism. 

16. Pray for a revival of religion. 

17. Start a young people's prayer-meeting. 

18. Organize a women's prayer-meeting. 

19. Publish a new church manual. 

20. Promote Christian union among Detroit 
churches. 

This list indicated a large program but it was 
only the beginning. Mr. Pierson built up the church 
attendance by giving the people his lest at both morn- 
ing and evening services and by organizing the men and 
women and the young people into bands to distribute 
invitations in the neighbourhood and to welcome 
strangers. He advertised very little, for he believed 
that his people were an even better medium than print- 
er's ink, but he endeavoured to make certain that his 
congregation should never be disappointed by a half- 
thought-out sermon. No matter how stormy the night 
or how few were present he never preached an old ser- 
mon to save the new one. People came from miles 
around to hear his sermons, which, according to one 
parishioner, were " full of weighty and solemn truth. 
His addresses afforded entertainment while they were 
at the same time impressive and instructive. . . . 
The intensity of his convictions, the lucidity of his 
ideas, and his supreme loyalty to Christ were marked. 
His thought often flashed out like chained lightning 
and we sat fascinated by his earnest eloquence." 

A newspaper writer of the day describes the pastor 
of the Fort Street Church as " one of Julius Caesar's 



The Preacher's Equipment 109 



lean men, tall, sharp of visage, with dark hair and 
beard. His face is pale but eager and his eye pene- 
trating. He has not a powerful voice but uses it ad- 
mirably. He is slow and emphatic in speech, enunci- 
ating clearly so as to be easily heard. He dresses 
simply and his behaviour before a congregation is abso- 
lutely unaffected. There is no bravado about his ser- 
mons but much bravery, for he often teaches unpalatable 
truths. The thought of delivering some of his dis- 
courses would be enough to throw not a few prophets 
of the Lord into a cold perspiration. John Knox — of 
the grim visage and lion heart — would find a fellow in 
this mighty man of valour." 

Mr. Pierson's ideals of a preacher's equipment are 
partially expressed in a reply to the offer of a chair of 
systematic theology in McCormick Theological Semi- 
nary. He wrote in his declination : "I confess that 
I do not feel in sympathy with the method of teaching 
theology from its polemic or controversial side rather 
than from its Biblical and practical side. In my opin- 
ion, students should be taught not so much how to throw 
up defenses as how to win souls and build up believers." 

He was called " a prince among preachers," and his 
success was due in part to his painstaking preparation 
and to the mastery of his subject matter. The sympa- 
thy and enthusiasm with which he took up a subject 
proved his own strong conviction as to its truth and 
importance ; his ability to understand his hearers also 
enabled him to speak with persuasive power. 

Less than two years after the new pastor was in- 
stalled, it became necessary to enlarge the auditorium 
and to remodel the basement of the church building 
to provide for the growing work. The interior was 



no 



At Fort Street Church, Detroit 



made in keeping with the exterior at a cost of nearly 
$40,000. 

The prayer life of the church received particular at- 
tention. A young people's society was organized and 
held a prayer-meeting just before the evening service. 
A woman's weekly prayer circle was also formed and 
the midweek service grew in interest and power. 
Some of the methods that he used to improve this 
" gauge of church life " were : 

First: Do away with all stiffness and formality. 
The leader should avoid lecturing and sermonizing. 
Let him open the meeting with a brief Bible study 
and cultivate a conversational style of speaking. His 
preparation must be thorough. 

Second: The leader should come direct from his 
knees and carry the atmosphere of heaven with him. 
If the people also come from their closet-devotion there 
will be no spirit of criticism. 

Third: Let there be good, lively, appropriate sing- 
ing of familiar songs and hymns. 

Fourth: Let there ^be time for testimony of young 
Christians, for special prayer and for reports on any 
work- in which the people are or should be interested. 
This will give an object and subject for prayer. 

Fifth : Let prayer be brief and to the point, not 
stereotyped and formal. Leave off the " preamble and 
resolutions " and begin in the middle. Prayer should 
unburden the heart. 

The missionary interest and work of the church had 
apparently fallen to a low ebb and were next taken in 
hand. The monthly concert of prayer for missions 
was revived, a Mission Band of young people was or- 
ganized and the Woman's Society was strengthened. 



Church Organization 



ill 



There was also formed what was perhaps the first 
Men's Foreign Missionary Society to support a mission- 
ary. The membership was intended to embrace all the 
men of the congregation and meetings were held quar- 
terly. The pastor delivered carefully prepared mission- 
ary lectures and sermons and made judicious sugges- 
tions as to missionary books and periodicals ; he 
developed other definite plans for practical work, so 
that his people soon came to be known far and wide as 
a missionary spirited church. This of course took 
time, study, tact and perseverance. According to Mr. 
Pierson's own statement, when he first assumed the 
pastorate of the church there was not one missionary 
organization or any regular missionary meeting in the 
congregation. "It took nearly ten years of patient 
sowing before the harvest was reaped, but there were 
then five missionary bands, one of which supported its 
own foreign missionary, and the monthly concert offer- 
ings alone outweighed the entire annual contributions to 
missions in previous years." 

Systematic beneficence both for current expenses and 
benevolence was also made a subject of prayer and 
study, and a system of individual pledges was insti- 
tuted. Members of the church were urged to " preach 
by proxy " in home and foreign fields while they en- 
joyed the privileges of the Gospel in their own luxurious 
building. As a result the gifts to both the local church 
and missionary work were doubled in the first five 
years and later were still more largely increased. Giv- 
ing was made a part of worship. 

The work of organization was important but by no 
means easy. Mr. Pierson believed that however desti- 
tute a pastor may be of efficient workers there are 



112 



At Fort Street Church, Detroit 



always in a congregation a few at least who may be 
called in to help conduct the temporal and spiritual 
affairs of the church. In Detroit he discovered a 
number of business and professional men, capable of 
leadership, and he set them to work. The elders, 
deacons and trustees were formed into a Church Coun- 
cil, which met once in two months or at the pastor's 
call. Every important matter that pertained to the 
church was brought before this council for discussion 
and decision. Objections and arguments were care- 
fully and prayerfully weighed and only when there 
was substantial agreement were the plans brought 
before the congregation or put into effect. Thus the 
program was agreed upon in advance and no "half- 
baked " plans were put into operation. 

Other members of the church he set to work in va- 
rious ways, so that talents and tastes were utilized to 
good advantage, and individuals felt that they had defi- 
nite responsibilities and interests in the organization. 
One man's artistic ability was employed to make signs 
and posters, another edited a church bulletin, women 
consecrated their voices in the worship of song ; some 
called on new members and strangers ; and others who 
could only use hands and feet distributed invitations. 

The pastor's Bible Class and Teachers' Institute which 
met for some years every Monday evening soon became 
popular and this feeding of the people on the "Word of 
God and teaching them how to feed themselves proved 
a valuable means of building them up in faith and con- 
duct. This class later developed into a Saturday even- 
ing study for all the Sunday-school teachers of the city, 
and enabled the teacher to mould the Biblical beliefs and 
Christian life of a large part of the Protestant population. 



Personal Bible Study 



"3 



Systematic Bible study had a great effect, not only 
on Mr. Pierson's preaching and teaching, but on his 
own spiritual life. He came more and more to regard 
the Bible, not only as a book of doctrine but as a living 
Counsellor and a Book of Life. He formed the habit 
of rising one or two hours before breakfast that he 
might have uninterrupted time for study and might 
begin the day with a personal fellowship with God. 
He found that the hour thus spent when his mind was 
fresh and when he was not distracted was worth more 
than three hours after other duties had begun to fill 
his thoughts. He would far rather go to his day's 
work without breakfast than without his hour of Bible 
study and prayer. He went to the Bible as to a per- 
sonal friend, for in it he saw the Divine Author. When 
he wanted guidance, help, comfort, he found it in these 
pages and received not only spiritual light and strength 
for general problems but often found wonderful an- 
swers to specific inquiries. 

The study of the Bible also led him to reconsider 
and ultimately to reconstruct his style of sermonizing. 
He found that when he preached the Word, God 
honoured it, but when he preached on popular themes, 
no matter how powerfully, the harvest was bare. He 
testified that when he ceased to care first for his own 
reputation and gave his people the results of Bible 
study, rather than the conclusions of his own philoso- 
phy, he never more experienced the sensation of minis- 
ters' " Blue Monday." His sermons became distinctly 
Scriptural, " thinking God's thoughts after Him," and 
he learned to expect God to fulfill His own promise, 
" My Word shall not return unto Me void." 

" For myself," he said 3 " I feel constrained to bear 



114 At Fort Street Church, Detroit 



witness that no amount of study of commentaries or 
any other human product has been of such help as the 
spiritual, devotional study of the Scriptures (if possible 
in the original tongues). The case and number of a 
noun, the mood and tense of a verb, the relation of 
clauses and words to each other may throw new light 
on a passage. Above all prayer and the supreme re- 
gard for the mind of the Spirit will lead to a receptive 
attitude of mind and comparative indifference to mere 
literary standards." 

This daily Bible study also led him to adopt Scrip- 
tural models and ideals for his church work. Not what 
man said but what God said was of chief importance to 
him. The supreme question on any subject was " What 
does the Bible teach ? " The " pattern shown in the 
Mount," if it could be found, must be followed at all costs. 

Daily Bible study brought such familiarity with the 
Word and such a love for it that it became a part of 
him ; unconsciously his style and language were moulded 
and governed by its thoughts and words. Even when he 
wished to send a postal card to his mother announcing 
the birth of his second son he most naturally expressed 
the message in a Scriptural enigma as follows : 

" From sweet Isaiah's sacred song, ninth chapter 
and verse six, 
First thirteen words please take and then the 

following affix ; 
From Genesis, the thirty-fifth, verse seventeen, 
no more, 

Then add verse twenty-six of Kings, book sec- 
ond, chapter four ; 

Then last two verses, chapter first, first book of 
Samuel, 

And you will learn what on this day your loving 
son befell. " 



Broader Service 



115 



No doubt this was a means of leading some inquisi- 
tive postal employees to search their Bibles. In 
later years when he travelled much across the sea, 
though he had copies of a cable code with which to 
communicate with his family, he invariably used a 
Scripture quotation in preference. 

As Mr. Pierson's fame grew he was beset with out- 
side calls which offered wider spheres of service. He 
was a regular attendant at Presbytery and active in 
that organization. In Synod he was generally present 
and was a power. His addresses on systematic benefi- 
cence, Bible study and home, foreign and city mis- 
sions became famous. He was also one of the moving 
spirits in the formation of the " Presbyterian Alliance," 
organized in 1872, to assist weak churches and to found 
new ones. This alliance was composed of all the pas- 
tors and elders of the city and was one of the early 
interchurch organizations formed to promote unity and 
cooperation in church work and city evangelization. 
The aim was to introduce into church affairs the ability 
and generalship more often seen in politics and business 
than in the affairs of the kingdom. 

He was active in enlarging and equipping the Young 
Men's Christian Association in the city and was the 
leading factor in the purchase of a site and a building 
before the days of " Whirlwind campaigns." Nothing 
troubled him so much as to be idle or to have his money 
or other possessions in " Cold Storage." Gradually he 
had accumulated a carefully selected library of some 
two thousand volumes and rather than have their use- 
fulness limited he allowed them to be circulated all 
over the city. 

Throughout the state he was also known as the friend 



1 16 At Fort Street Church, Detroit 

of worthy but struggling institutions and many thou- 
sands of dollars were, through his persistent efforts, 
added to equipment and endowment of Kalamazoo 
Seminary and Olivet College. 

On one occasion when attending Synod in Ann Arbor 
Mr. Pierson was stirred through and through by the 
reported irreligious condition of the university there. 
He announced that if such were the facts, there was 
need of immediate missionary work in that field, as 
many promising youth of the state and country were 
being saved or lost to God in that university. When- 
ever he felt or spoke like that, some practical plan took 
shape. The ultimate result in this case was the forma- 
tion of the Tappan Presbyterian Association, which 
now owns property valued at fifty thousand dollars and 
has its own student pastor to look after the religious 
welfare of the eight hundred or more Presbyterian stu- 
dents at the university. 

When the Chicago fire destroyed the office of The 
Advance he wrote suggesting that each of the sub- 
scribers help pay the loss by sending anew their year's 
subscription, and he himself offered to use his pen 
freely to supply poems and articles without charge. 

In 1881, when great forest fires devastated large dis- 
tricts in Northern Michigan and made thousands of 
sufferers homeless, Mr. Pierson went to their help. 
He made a tour of that portion of the state and his sub- 
sequent appeal to the Christian public brought thou- 
sands of dollars for relief. 

Outside calls increased, as is always the case with 
effective workers, but Mr. Pierson did not allow them 
to interfere seriously with the duties to his own congre- 
gation. Some of his most valued experiences came in 



Methods of Work 



117 



connection with pastoral visitation. He formed the 
habit of carrying about with him a record book in 
which he entered in cipher the facts about each family 
— the names and birthdays, the character and peculiar- 
ities, the tastes, the physical infirmities, temptations 
and besetting sins of the children, the talents and ca- 
pabilities of each for church work, the residence of ab- 
sentees, and the characteristics of the spiritual life of 
each. These facts gave him an intimate acquaintance 
with the households in his parish and enabled him to en- 
ter into the family life and to pray intelligently and 
sympathetically for them individually and collectively. 

Such systematic and faithful work produced results. 
Revivals in church and Sabbath-school rewarded the 
Scriptural teaching and prayerful spirit and at one time 
nearly the whole Sabbath-school remained week after 
week at the close of the session for religious conversa- 
tion, and large numbers united with the church. The 
next step was to set these young recruits to work and 
in this Mr. Pierson had five rules : 

1. Have definite work on hand in the local church 
or mission. 

2. Endeavour to enlist every one in some unselfish 
service. 

3. Emphasize this as among the normal duties of 
every one received into the church. 

4. Keep an exact list of church-members with the 
work each is doing or able to do. 

5. Carefully adapt the forms of work to individual 
temperament and fitness. 

There were many individual instances which encour- 
aged the pastor in his work. He aimed to save men, 
not to make them comfortable, and he believed that 



li8 At Fort Street Church, Detroit 

faithful preaching would attract those who were earnest 
seekers after God. One incident he relates as follows : 

" One Monday morning a young man — a stranger — 
was ushered into my study. He sat down and said : 
' Sir, I was led yesterday into your church and heard 
you preach on " The wages of sin is death, but the gift 
of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." 
It made me feel that I am a sinner and have fairly 
earned those wages. But I want the gift of God. 
Can you tell me how to get it ? ' He was not ashamed 
to weep and I wept with him. Then I explained to him, 
with a satisfaction that can never be known by those 
who have never felt it, the simple way of believing on 
the Lord Jesus, taking Him at His Word and so receiv- 
ing cleansing and redemption. As he listened I asked : 
' Are you willing to accept this Saviour as your only 
hope of eternal life ? ' 

"'lam.' 

" ' Now and forever ? ' 
" ' Yes, now and forever.' 

" ' Are you willing to give yourself unreservedly to 
Him?' 
"'lam.' 

" We knelt down and both prayed. He spoke in a 
trembling, stammering tongue that I am sure sounded 
as smooth and sweet in the ear of God as the most 
fluent dialect of heaven. 

" As we rose to our feet I said : 6 Now will you tell 
others of the Saviour you have found ? ' He promised 
and went from my house to a noonday prayer-meet- 
ing where he testified to his new joy in finding the 
Saviour. He followed this by confession in his home 
and the church and brought his wife also to the table 



A Rich Man Offended 



119 



of the Lord. He took a class in the mission school 
and became a humble, active Christian. He will ever 
be in my mind an example of a man who seeks for God 
with all his heart." 

In a church which included so many wealthy and in- 
fluential men there must have been not a little tempta- 
tion for the minister to preach generalities and to 
avoid direct and definite denunciation of sins which 
are often countenanced even by church-members. 
But moral cowardice could never be charged against 
Arthur T. Pierson. He had an overwhelming sense of 
his responsibility to preach the Gospel as an ambassa- 
dor of Christ and could not take the responsibility 
of toning it down to please " itching ears." He be- 
lieved that if he spoke his own words he might be held 
accountable for the result, but if he spoke the Word 
of God in truth and love he could leave the outcome in 
the hands of the Almighty. One experience in Detroit 
confirmed him in the determination to be faithful even 
in most trying circumstances, and the outcome taught him 
that such fidelity is respected even by those who may 
be offended. We give the incident in his own words : 

" At a funeral of a rich, generous and popular but 
dissipated man who died of delirium tremens, I felt it 
my duty to be very plain in addressing straight words 
of warning to the large number of men who attended 
the funeral. I made a pointed appeal to the hundreds 
of his unconverted business associates who came to the 
last rites and asked them that old question of profit 
and loss, 'What shall it profit a man if he gain the 
whole world and lose his own soul ? ' With intense 
earnestness that question was pressed home to many 
who never showed themselves within church doors. 



120 



At Fort Street Church, Detroit 



" Of course some took offense. Many came that day, 
expecting that the ' officiating clergyman ' would pay 
homage to a rich and popular man, and gloss over 
with polite varnish his life of profligacy and inebriety. 
They hoped to have some salve applied to their own 
consciences, from the ointment of praise with which 
such a man would be anointed for burial. The disap- 
pointment of a few was outspoken and violent. One 
man, who was a paying but not a praying member of 
my congregation, went away angrily cursing me and 
declaring that he would make a provision in his will 
that I should not have any part in his funeral ceremonies ! 

" Any minister of the Gospel who seeks first of all 
to be true to himself and to God as well as to man, 
knows at what sacrifice of feeling truth must some- 
times be told. But sooner or later the compensation 
comes. In this case it came very unexpectedly and 
markedly. Within a few months that man was smitten 
with an incurable disease ; and as he belonged to my 
congregation, I ventured to call upon him to offer him 
such help as I could. To my surprise he was not only 
glad to see me but he begged me to come often. He 
clung to me like a little child — opened his whole heart 
to me, confessed his lifelong sins, besought me to 
pray with him, and before he died wrote me a letter, 
with a trembling hand, in which, after lovingly ac- 
knowledging the attentions I had paid him during 
his illness, he said : ' Always tell men the truth ; be 
honest with them under all circumstances. They may 
be offended at the time, but they will believe in you 
and trust you in the end. As a man of the world let 
me say, my dear pastor, that when you or any minis- 
ter of the Gospel can present the subject of religion to 



Methods With Men 121 

a sinner so that you make him feel that you have a 
personal interest in him, outside — if I may so say — of 
your clerical duty to present these great truths to all 
men, then you have made rapid strides into his heart 
and confidence. ' 

" That letter is a revelation of what passes in the 
breast of many a hearer who seems to give no heed. 
When they come to look at the great Hereafter they 
want no quicksand on which to stand." 

One secret of Mr. Pierson's success with men was 
this personal interest in the individual members of 
his congregation. He often secured the cooperation 
that he needed by some unique method of approach. 
This is illustrated by a note written to a member of 
his church when he was in need of a pulpit clock. 
The trustees had purchased one, but it was lost in some 
way and they neglected to replace it. The pastor 
therefore wrote the following to one of his parishioners : 

u Your pastor very meekly suggests, 
Not venturing any more earnest requests ; 
A clock to the pulpit might be annexed 
To keep the people from being vexed 
By sermons that run to excessive length, 
And tax the popular patience and strength. 
Perhaps an hour-glass might do as well 
By which the swift passing of time he could tell ; 
Or a beadle to tap with his gentle rod, 
Not only the hearer who ventures to nod, 
But the preacher whose words continue to run 
When the sand in the hour-glass ought to be done." 

The pastor received his timepiece without delay. 

It may be well to pause here to note the family life 
of this busy pastor. Before he was forty years old he 
had a family of seven children ranging in age from one 



122 



At Fort Street Church, Detroit 



to sixteen years. With his aged mother there was a 
family of ten and a busy, often noisy household it was. 
The children had inherited good physiques and the 
simple food and regular habits of life gave them health 
that was overflowing in animal spirits. 

The father believed in ruling his household with a 
firm but loving hand, for he regarded the family as a 
miniature state and church. God's plan, he believed, 
was that the father should be priest and ruler leading 
in worship and, under God, shaping the policies of the 
household. The "first commandment with promise," 
" honour thy father and thy mother " was not an empty 
and antiquated regulation in the Pierson family but 
the father and mother saw to it that they themselves 
should be worthy of honour. Before their children 
knew that there was a Father in heaven they became 
acquainted with their father on earth and from him re- 
ceived their ideas of God. It was a basic principle in 
the Pierson household that while the children were 
under the parental roof and supported by father and 
mother, the parents were to be obeyed as God was to 
be obeyed. Nor were children allowed to wait for a 
reason else it would not be true obedience. " Spare 
the rod and spoil the child " was not an obsolete maxim. 
Anarchy in the household was looked upon as the pre- 
cursor of anarchy in state and Church. 

The rules established were few but reasonable and 
were strictly enforced by father and mother in har- 
mony. Some of these rules were: No argument in 
matters of obedience ; early bedtime regulated accord- 
ing to age ; early rising and prompt dressing or little 
breakfast; no absence from school except for illness 
and then strict diet, and no playtime due to sudden re- 



Glimpses of Family Life 



123 



covery; no Saturday holiday until the Sunday-school 
lesson had been prepared and the memory verses had 
been recited to mother ; church and Sabbath-school at- 
tendance not a debatable question ; no books read that 
had not first passed parental censorship ; no " parties " 
to interfere with school or on Saturday nights ; a por- 
tion of all money received as an allowance, however 
small, to be set aside for benevolence. 

But the regulations were not by any means chiefly 
negative or legalistic. The parents believed in sym- 
pathy as well as in strictness and they themselves set 
the example in Christian life and regular habits. The 
morning worship was as regular as clockwork and the 
singing, Scripture reading and prayer were generally 
adapted to young minds. The " blessing " at table also 
kept God in mind as the bountiful Provider to whom 
the heart's gratitude is due. Not only in summer but 
in the busy winter, father and mother took an active 
interest in their children's outings, friends were ever 
welcomed at the home and ten was not so large a num- 
ber at table as to exclude additions. The long winter 
evenings, after lessons were finished, often saw a happy 
family circle gathered in the library, employed with sew- 
ing, drawing, or whittling, or making scrap-books, while 
the father read aloud from some interesting work of 
history, biography, travel, popular science or high-class 
fiction. This was a valuable means of cultivating the 
taste of the growing minds and the interests and sym- 
pathies of parents and children were firmly cemented 
together. In this way also they became familiar with 
most of the important books of the day, adapted to 
youth, and were saved from the temptation to indulge 
in pernicious or senseless literature. 



] 24 At Fort Street Church, Detroit 



One picture of the father in these Detroit days is in- 
delibly impressed on the memories of his children. It 
was in the autumn of 1876 and the mother was con- 
fined to her bed with her youngest child a few days 
old when three of the children suddenly came down 
with scarlet fever. There were no surplus funds for 
special nurses, and if there had been the father would 
have preferred, if possible, to care for the sick ones 
himself. His church was being rebuilt and there were 
countless meetings of session and trustees as well as 
many outside calls, but Mr. Pierson for six or eight 
weeks daily visited with his wife, prepared his sermons, 
kept up his pastoral work and would then come in to 
spend an hour or two with his three young children all 
ill in one room. He himself would rub their hot little 
bodies with cocoa-butter and in the days of their con- 
valescence he would read aloud from their favourite 
books. His great delight was to prepare with his own 
hand some delicacies that were permitted by the phy- 
sician. His eyes would dance and twinkle like a child's 
when he came into the sick-room with some fine oranges, 
toys or other delightful surprise. After the time for his 
brief visit had flown — all too quickly — he would carefully 
bathe with carbolic soap and dress with entirely fresh 
clothing that he might without danger to others again 
visit his beloved wife and go about his usual duties. 

The summers spent in Brooklyn, Michigan, were 
great seasons for strengthening the family ties. There 
work and regular duties were not lacking for each one 
in house, garden or stable, but recreation was provided 
for with equal care. It was a happy family that went 
off on long weekly drives and picnics to some of the 
neighbouring lakes. The children learned from joyful 



An Escape from Drowning 12$ 



experience that the parents understood them and were 
as solicitous for their happiness as for their training in 
thrift, obedience and truthfulness. 

Sorrows were not numerous in the household, for death 
did not enter and serious illness was infrequent, but some 
experiences made a profound impression on all and 
added to the seriousness of life. One of these, which 
brought home to all a deeper sense of God's loving 
care, occurred in the summer of 1877, when Mr. Pierson 
and three children, Laura, Louise and Delavan, narrowly 
escaped drowning in Yineyard Lake near their summer 
home. They had been out fishing in a leaky boat, as 
they had often done before, but this time the boat 
became unusually full of water. One child started to 
change her seat and more water entered over the sides. 
Suddenly the boat began to sink. The father leaped 
forward with one child clinging to his back and grasped 
a slender fishing stake with one hand while with the 
other he drew two children from under the water. 
There for half an hour they clung unable to summon 
assistance from the deserted shore. The father could 
swim, but was unwilling to leave his children. Between 
the calls for help to unseen men, they prayed to the 
unseen God and committed themselves to His keeping. 
They promised that if their lives were spared they would 
devote them loyally to His service. Finally a woman 
heard their calls for help and came to the rescue in another 
boat. She had never handled oars and Mr. Pierson, 
with his head just above water, had to direct her how 
to use them. Finally they climbed into the boat and 
reached the shore in safety. The joy and excitement 
of reunion with loved ones might have effaced from the 
young minds the covenant made with God and the 



126 



At Fort Street Church, Detroit 



deeper lesson of gratitude to Him, but the father wrote 
his children a loving letter which he asked each to sign : 

" My dear Laura, Louise, and Delavan : 

" I cannot keep from thinking about you. . . . 
I cannot thank God enough for such a wonderful deliv- 
erance as that on last Tuesday when we were all saved 
from drowning. 

" Now, dear children, do you not think that we ought 
to remember how we told God, when we were in the 
water, that if He would save us we would live for His 
service ? "We were in the very jaws of death and He 
put his arms under us and kept us alive. . . . What 
can we do to show our love to our dear Saviour ? I 
thought I would like to write out my promise to God 
and sign my name. I think you will each be glad to 
sign your name also. . . . Let us ask God to make 
us such a blessing as that we shall see more and more 
reason to be grateful to Him. . . . 

A Promise to God 

" We owe our lives to God. He heard our cry and 
sent us aid when we were in danger of drowning in 
Vineyard Lake on July 27, 1877. Now we put our 
names to this promise to give ourselves to Him, praying 
Him to help us by His Spirit to live all the rest of oui 
days unto Him." 

[Signed] 




VIII 



FEOM CHUKCH TO OPERA HOUSE— A CHANGE 
OF TACTICS 

SUCCESS had thus far crowned Dr. Pierson's 
efforts. As the popular pastor of one of the 
leading churches in the Middle West he occupied 
an enviable position. His congregation was large, 
cultured, influential and wealthy ; his people were 
harmonious, devoted and enthusiastic; his work was 
well organized and aggressive and the various depart- 
ments of church activity seemed to be in a healthy 
condition. He had received the degree of Doctor of 
Divinity, his salary had been increased, and there were 
other tokens of appreciation and esteem. His fame 
had spread abroad, in city, state and nation so that he 
had many remunerative opportunities to lecture, and he 
was recognized as a power in civic and ecclesiastical 
affairs, especially as a leader in religious and missionary 
enterprises. God's blessing seemed to rest upon him so 
that he had very nearly reached the summit of his am- 
bition, but still he was far from being satisfied. What 
lacked he yet ? Some pastors might have been content 
to settle down with a consciousness of achievement. They 
would have cared for no greater sign of success than a 
well-filled and well-organized church. But this did not 
satisfy the soul of Dr. Pierson. Most of the additions 
to the church were by letter or were children from the 
Sunday-school, and while he rejoiced over these, he 
longed to see men and women born anew and manif est- 

127 



1 28 From Church to Opera House 



ing their new birth by a new nature and a new life. 
His dissatisfaction grew as he saw and heard of mul- 
titudes converted under the simple preaching of 
comparatively unlettered evangelists. He realized that 
there was a power of God of which he knew nothing. 
There were promises of blessing which were not being 
fulfilled. He believed in God's Word and in His power, 
but something must be standing in the way. 

While this burden was lying heavily upon him, God 
sent to Detroit two of His servants, Major D. W. 
Whittle and his associate, P. P. Bliss, the singing 
evangelist. They began to hold gospel meetings on 
Tuesday, October 6, 1874, and continued their Detroit 
campaign for six weeks. Dr. Pierson gladly sat at their 
feet, as a learner. He attended the services, studied 
their methods and observed the results. He learned 
three things : (1) The power of simple gospel preach- 
ing in contrast to that which emphasized literary style ; 
(2) the power of God's Word when used to unfold the 
great Christian doctrines in contrast to non-Biblical 
preaching ; and (3) the power of gospel song in contrast 
to elaborate music rendered chiefly for artistic effect. 

Mr. Bliss wrote his music, as Major Whittle prepared 
his sermons, solely for spiritual impression, and when 
Dr. Pierson wrote for them a song, " With Harps and 
with Viols," he was impressed to see Mr. Bliss with- 
draw for a season of prayer before composing the music. 
All they did was " sanctified by the Word of God and 
by prayer." 

The evangelists were entertained for a month in the 
Pierson home and their very presence was a benedic- 
tion. The calm peace and joy in the Holy Spirit that 
pervaded their lives spoke even more loudly than their 



Whittle and Bliss 



129 



sermons and songs. Their host longed to experience 
more of the fullness of God's abiding presence and 
power in his own personal life and ministry. 

One night after a meeting of unusual power, the 
pastor of the Methodist church, in which it was held, 
entered his lecture room and found Dr. Pierson alone 
with his head bowed on his hands, deeply moved. On 
being asked the cause of his distress he replied : 

" I feel that I have never been truly converted nor 
have I preached the Gospel as I ought." 

By many external leadings and by the inward " Still 
small voice " God was calling him to larger, more 
fruitful service. Just before the evangelists left the 
city, Major Whittle said to his host, with great ear- 
nestness : " Brother Pierson, Bliss and I are firmly con- 
vinced that God would mightily use you if you were 
wholly consecrated to Him. We have agreed to pray 
for you daily that you may be fully surrendered." 

These words were not easy to forget, but for over a 
year they apparently bore no fruit. He became rest- 
less amid his worldly success until he finally felt that 
he must face the issue or give up his commission. The 
conviction had been growing upon him that before he 
could be used as he wished for the conversion of men 
he must be more fully consecrated to God. At his 
suggestion a room was fitted up in the church tower 
and thither he went for uninterrupted Bible study, 
meditation, self-examination and communion with God. 
On November 12, 1875, a day appointed by the Synod 
of Michigan for fasting and prayer, he was convinced 
that the great obstacle to his spiritual growth and 
power was his ambition for literary glory. This con- 
viction had been slowly growing, but he had almost 



130 From Church to Opera House 

unconsciously fought against it. JNow he asked God 
to deal with this ambition in His own way. He was 
brought to the depths of humiliation and almost de- 
spair. The steps by which he began to come out of the 
slough of despond, he describes as follows : 

" I began to pray aloud in private and found this a 
great help to my realization of the presence of God, and 
I learned what real prayer meant. Then I was im- 
pressed with the necessity for honesty, absolute candour 
with God in asking what I really wanted, and what I 
was willing to give up everything else to obtain. I 
saw that my life had been full of self-seeking and idol- 
atry, such as I had never realized. Next I felt the 
need of present faith in the sure Word of God which 
promises answer to such prayer. God gave me this 
assurance in the preparation of a special sermon to my 
people. Finally I saw that I must give up every am- 
bition and every idol, and must place myself unreserv- 
edly in the hands of God. It was a terrible battle, but 
at last I said, with all my heart, 6 Lord, let me be noth- 
ing, but use me if Thou wilt to save souls and to glorify 
Thee.' . 

" From that day I was conscious of the presence of 
the Holy Spirit in my life and work in a way that I 
had before never known. The text, 1 John v. 4, 'I 
have overcome the world,' was revealed to me in a new 
light and instead of depending upon my energy and 
ability to overcome the world, I saw that God must do 
it and all the glory was to be His, not mine. 

" Just at this time the remarkable biography of 
Charles G. Finney was put into my hands and from it 
I saw how God's spirit could use a man wholly ab- 
sorbed in the work of saving souls. From the hour 




ARTHUR T. PIERSON IN DETROIT 
fFrom a photograph taken at about the age of forty — in 1878] 



Steps to Spiritual Power 131 

that I nailed my ambition for literary honours and 
applause to the Cross of Christ, I began to feel a deep 
and solemn conviction that God, in answer to prayer, 
was about to commission me to a new work for Christ. 
Within one year this expectation was marvellously ful- 
filled." 

One Sabbath morning, March 19, 1876, he preached on 
" The New Birth " with a keen sense of the help of the 
Holy Spirit. The impression made on the hearers was 
deep and solemn. The pastor felt that many would 
have arisen for prayer but for the atmosphere and tra* 
ditions of the congregation, which restrained him from 
making any such innovation. Inquirers were asked to 
come to the lecture room and two men responded and 
gave themselves to God. At the evening service the 
pastor began a series of sermons suggested by facts in 
Finney's life, and there was evidence of still deeper 
interest. 

The next Friday evening, March 24th, was unusually 
stormy, but seventy-five gathered for prayer and the 
pastor took his people into his confidence. He spoke 
plainly and tenderly of the barriers that he felt stood 
between the church and larger ingatherings. He told 
them of his own surrender and asked the church to 
join him in a determination to remove any obstacles 
that might be due to tradition, prejudice, fashion, over- 
attention to the aesthetic or to lack of sympathy with 
the masses. The very character of the church building, 
with its imposing architecture, beautiful furnishings, 
and rented pews, was suggested as a possible hindrance 
to drawing the poorer classes. God's promises to an- 
swer prayer and to give power for service were quoted 
from His Word. Then pastor and people knelt down 



132 From Church to Opera House 

(this act itself was an innovation) and prayed that at 
all costs their church might be used to give the Bread 
of Life to the unsaved multitudes of the city. 

While that prayer was being breathed out to God the 
church building was burning. As they rose from their 
knees smoke was noticeable in the room and some of 
the officers sought the cause but without success. 
They concluded that contrary winds were blowing the 
smoke down the chimney, and after a careful investi- 
gation they went home. The next morning the beau* 
tiful temple was in ashes. The fire had started in a 
defective flue and had crept along between the walls, 
so that in the early dawn the whole building burst into 
flame. When the fire engines arrived the interior was 
a roaring furnace. 

In spite of the financial loss and the grief due to the 
devastation of a place so full of hallowed associations, 
Dr. Pierson saw in this seeming calamity the hand of 
God. The tower study, in which were a thousand 
books, and two thousand sermons — the work of twenty 
years, — was destroyed, but even then he felt that the 
spiritual lessons and experiences were beyond the reach 
of the flames. He wrote to D. L. Moody : " I felt as 
if God had laid His hand on my shoulder and said, ' 1 
am thy God ; henceforth be a man of prayer and faith 
and give thyself to the work of saving souls.' I re- 
plied, ' Lord, by Thy grace, I will.' " 

Immediately the church officers were called together 
and at their pastor's earnest request decided to hire 
the large " Whitney's Opera House," and to open it 
freely for evangelistic services, with gospel hymns and 
a volunteer choir. 

This was a great step for the aristocratic, exclusive 



After the Burning of the Church 133 

church to take. At the same time their pastor dis- 
carded forever the use of written sermons, for he saw 
in the loss of his manuscripts 1 a call to abandon what he 
believed to be a hindrance to direct preaching of God's 
message to the people. His first sermon in the Opera 
House was sought on his knees and he was led to preach 
on the words : " The fire shall try every man's work of 
what sort it is." 

A newspaper writer of the day thus describes the 
first service in the Opera House : 

" The audience began to assemble long before the 
doors were open and stood patiently reading the bill- 
boards, which announced the play ' The Black Crook.' 
As the people began to fill the house from pit to top 
gallery, two theatre men who dropped in out of 
curiosity remarked that such an audience would bring 
a good sum at fifty cents a head. When the audience 
joined in singing 6 Praise God from whom all blessings 
flow,' it made the house ring as it never had rung 
before even for the grandest opera chorus. Some of 
the people, who were more accustomed to the opera than 
to church, were so impressed by the singing that they 
began to applaud. A hushed stillness pervaded the 
vast audience during the prayer and they listened 
sympathetically to the sermon on 'The Ordeal of 
Fire.' Two actors who came in at the stage door to 
look for their baggage stood behind the flies, with hats 
in hand, listening with rapt attention to the man who 
stood where they had performed the evening before." 

The preacher seemed inspired as he gave what was 
reported to be " one of the most startling, plain spoken 

1 These manuscripts and his annotated Bible were afterwards re- 
covered and were found to be in only a slightly damaged condition. 



134 From Church to Opera House 



discourses a nineteenth century audience ever listened 
to." 

The power of God was immediately manifest in the 
Opera House not only at the preaching services but in 
the two Bible readings and two prayer-meetings held 
each week. God touched His servant's lips with a live 
coal from off the altar and his words burned their way 
into men's hearts. Hundreds rose for prayer and 
remained for personal conversation. Men and women, 
who had not been in church for years, began to attend ; 
even standing room was taken, and often on pleasant 
evenings from 800 to 1,000 were turned away. In the 
next sixteen months Dr. Pierson saw more souls con- 
verted than in all the previous sixteen years of his 
ministry. 

In a letter to Mr. Moody he expressed his own con- 
victions : " I pray especially that neither I nor any one 
else may attribute these results to any human instru- 
ment. It is so plainly the work of God that I am 
comparatively lost sight of, as I desire to be, but I have 
a deep conviction that God is anointing me for some 
new service, new at least in some respects. . . . 
Pray that I may be wholly emptied of self and filled 
with Him." 

On the second Sabbath the pastor preached another 
stirring discourse on "The Church and the Masses" 
(Luke xiv. 23), in the course of which he said : 

" Men give three kinds of excuses to avoid coming 
into the kingdom of God : First there is the excuse of 
property, second of preoccupation, and third of domestic 
ties. Similar hindrances stand in the way of the 
churches that would minister to the unsaved. When 
churches are ornate and have rented pews, poor men 



Reaching Out for the Masses 135 



will not come to be guests of the rich. . . . When 
Christian people are not willing to sacrifice their tastes 
for art, architecture, music and oratory in the house 
of God they do not reach the masses. A kid glove is 
often a non-conductor between man and man. . . . 
But the Church must have the people or it will die. 
The Church needs them as much as they need the 
Church." 

Thus from the beginning of the new era Dr. Pierson 
spoke plainly to his people and urged them to prepare 
to follow God's leading and to build a simple tabernacle 
in which all classes would feel at home in the worship 
of God. He asked for a church building adapted to 
this purpose and for an unworldly administration. 

One of his sermons presents some of his convictions 
on the church and free pews. 

"1. We must magnify the idea of the LorcPs House 
by some system that discourages all exclusive human 
rights of property in the sanctuary and discountenances 
all invidious social distinctions. 

" 2. The support of the ministry should be on the 
basis of voluntary contributions so as to promote true 
independence on the part of the Lord's ambassador. 

" 3. We must study economy according to the 
principles and practice of the Apostolic Church and be 
an example to other churches. 

" 4. We must so plan as to bring the Gospel into 
contact with the unsaved multitudes about us. Attend- 
ance at the house of worship should be as free as is 
consistent with the necessary cost of maintaining the 
work." 

The pastor himself felt, with Paul, " Woe is me if 
I preach not the Gospel." He proclaimed with earnest- 



136 



From Church to Opera House 



ness and power not only the attractive aspects of the 
Gospel but the sterner doctrines as well. He was 
never a prophet of smooth things. Sin was denounced 
and mercy was offered. The result was one of the 
greatest religious revivals the city ever experienced. 
Scores of converts were added to many churches and 
some of the most prominent men of the city date 
their conversion from the Opera House services. 

These converts were not like paper, caught up and 
carried along only for a brief moment by the whirl of 
a passing enthusiasm. Twenty-one years later an in- 
vestigation was made and it was found that of 294 
members received into Fort Street Church on confes- 
sion of faith as a result of these meetings 229 were sat- 
isfactorily accounted for as faithful to their Christian 
vows. 

When the question arose as to the rebuilding of the 
church, Dr. Pierson urged his officers to aim to make 
it not so much " a model of art as a model of a church" 
— a building not for display but for work and worship, 
without unnecessary extravagance but adequately 
equipped for service. He asked not for a colossal tab- 
ernacle but for an auditorium adapted to work for the 
masses, planned for comfort but not for luxury. 

He was also opposed to a church debt and exclaimed, 
" Better a frame chapel free from debt with Christian 
ideals, upheld with Christian manhood, than a stately 
temple built and controlled by the money of ungodly 
men, or obtained by bowing to those who do not bow 
the knee to Christ as Saviour and Lord." 

The officers of the church listened patiently and 
courteously to their pastor's arguments and appeals, but 
while they loved and respected him they were not con- 



The Return to the Church 



!37 



vinced. The church was rebuilt more beautiful than 
ever, but by way of compromise the pews were made 
free for the evening services. The pastor was disap- 
pointed and felt that they were not wholly following 
the Lord's leading. He however threw himself into the 
effort to win men to Christ by the use of such equip- 
ment as he had. Both pastor and people had been rad- 
ically changed by their experience in the Opera House, 
and when they returned to their renovated temple after 
sixteen months' absence, a different spirit and atmos- 
phere prevailed. Instead of formality and comparative 
coldness to strangers there was warmth and a cordial 
welcome for all. 

The congregational singing took on new life and 
the mottoes " Preach the Gospel " and " Pray with- 
out ceasing" on either side of the pulpit were put 
into practice with new fervour. Many members had 
acquired a taste for soul winning, and every week 
young men visited hotels, saloons, and street cor- 
ners to distribute invitations. " After meetings " were 
held each Sunday night and missionary work was car- 
ried on in neglected quarters of the city. Earnest men 
and women went out to hold cottage prayer-meetings, 
Sunday-schools and preaching services, and more than 
one new church grew up as a result. Dr. Pierson's 
motto for his people was " Let every hearer become a 
herald." 

But with the return to the new and stately building it 
was found impossible to preserve the hold upon non- 
churchgoers, though the pewholders sought to make 
strangers welcome and the sermons continued to be 
simple, practical, and extemporaneous. The preacher 
did not disregard his talents and literary style, but he 



138 From Church to Opera House 

made them subservient to the one great end of reaching 
men. 

During this period Dr. Pierson learned many lessons 
in dealing with inquirers. He himself testified that he 
had up to that time depended on argument in place of 
on the Holy Spirit. He thought he could interpret 
anything or solve any difficulty. He used to lay his 
plans to capture men as he would to capture a fortress, 
but he too often found that when he had taken one 
stronghold the garrison had fled to another. ~Now he 
learned that when he kept Christ in the foreground and 
depended on the Sword of the Spirit, God gave the vic- 
tory. The heart cannot be captured by attacking the 
head, and spiritual difficulties must be overcome by 
spiritual weapons. The one dependence in this war- 
fare is on the guidance and power of the Holy 
Spirit. 

Some of the experiences of the inquiry room were 
of unique interest and permanent value as examples of 
effective methods in leading men to Christ. One of 
these Dr. Pierson described as follows : 

" At the close of a sermon on ' Abiding in Christ,' 
according to my custom, I invited any person present 
who was impressed with his need of Christ to meet me 
in the inquirer's room. 

"One young man of about thirty responded. He 
was tall, stalwart of frame, intelligent, and would have 
been fine looking but for a cloud that seemed to abide 
upon his countenance. In fact, his face seemed scarred 
and furrowed, as though his life had been a battle with 
sin and care, and he had been terribly worsted in the 
contest. I said to him : 

" ' 1 take it, sir, that you are here to talk with me 



Dealing With Inquirers 



"39 



about your spiritual interests. "Will you let me into 
the very heart of your trouble or difficulty ? ' 

" 6 Well, sir,' said he, ' I suppose you would consider 
my case a desperate one. I am a follower of Kobert 
Ingersoll. I am an unbeliever, a disbeliever, an infi- 
del.' 

" 6 But I suppose there are some things you believe. 
You believe the Bible to be the Book of God ? ' 
"'JSTo, sir.' 

" ' You believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God ? ' 
"'No, sir.' 

" 4 Well, at least you believe in a God ? ' 

" ' There may be a God ; I cannot say that I believe 
there is, but there may be ; I do not know.' 

" t Then why are you here ? I do not see what you 
want of me, if you do not believe in the Bible nor in 
Christ, and are not even sure there is any God.' 

" £ I heard you preach to-night, and it seems to me 
that you must believe something and that it gives you 
peace and comfort.' 

" ' You are quite right.' 

" * Well, I don't believe anything, and am perfectly 
wretched ; if you can show me the way to believe any- 
thing and to get happiness in believing, I wish you 
would. If you can help me, do it quickly, for I have 
been carrying this burden as long as I can. I am a 
law student, but I am so wretched I cannot study nor 
sit still. I wandered over here to-night, and heard the 
organ playing in your church, and went in expecting to 
hear some fine music. I heard nothing but simple con- 
gregational singing, but curiosity led me to remain and 
hear what you had to say, and one thing impressed me, 
— that you have faith in somebody or something, and 



140 From Church to Opera House 



you are happy in believing. My envy of you brings 
me in here.' 

" I lifted my heart to God for special guidance, and 
drew my chair up close to this unhappy man and in- 
voluntarily put my arm around him. 

" 4 Tell me something to read/ he said. 

" 4 1 would have you read nothing but the Bible. 
You have been reading too much ; that is partly what 
is the matter with you. You are full of the misleading, 
plausible sophistries of the skeptics. Eead the Word 
of God.' 

" 4 But what is the use when I do not believe it to be 
the "Word of God ? ' 

" Opening my Bible, I turned to John v. 39, and with 
my finger on the verse slowly read : 4 Search the Scrip- 
tures ; for in them ye think ye have eternal life and 
they are they which testify of Me and ye will not come 
unto Me that ye may have life.' 4 Now,' said 1, 4 it is 
God's testimony and my experience that he who dili- 
gently searches the Scriptures will find that they con- 
tain the witness to their own divine origin and inspira- 
tion, and to the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ.' 

44 4 Well,' said he, 4 I'll read the Bible, but what be- 
side ? ' 

44 Turning to Matthew vi. 6, I pointed to the words : 
* Enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy 
door, pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy 
Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward 
thee.' 4 If that means anything, it means that if you 
sincerely pray to God He will reveal Himself to you.' 

44 4 But of what use to pray to God if you don't be- 
lieve there is a God ? ' 

44 For an instant I was perplexed. But a thought 



An Infidel Converted 141 



flashed across me, and although I never had given such 
counsel to any man before, I gave utterance to it, for 
I felt guided. 

M 4 It makes no difference,' I replied, 6 provided you 
are sincere. God will not disregard any genuine effort 
to draw near to Him. Go and pray, if only like the 
famous Thistlewood conspirator : " Oh, God, if there 
be a God, save my soul, if I have a soul." ' 

" 4 Anything more ? ' said he. 

" 6 Yes,' and I opened to John vii. 17, and read : 
6 " If any man will do His will, he shall know of the 
doctrine." That means that if you act up to whatever 
light you have, you shall have more light. In God's 
school, we never are taught a second lesson till we 
practice the first. " Then shall we know if we follow 
on to know the Lord." 

" 6 1 have given you three texts already to ponder 
and study. I wish to add one more : Matt. xi. 28, 29, 
30, " Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy 
laden, and I will give you rest." That means that if 
you come directly to Jesus Christ, He will give you 
rest. Now notice these four texts. One bids you to 
search the Scriptures ; one, to pray in secret ; one, to 
put in practice whatever you know ; and the last, to 
come to Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour.' 

" ' Is that all ? ' he inquired. 

" ' That is all. "Will you promise me to go and fol- 
low this simple prescription ? ' 
" < 1 will.' 

" After kneeling in prayer together, this Ingersollite 
left me. Two weeks later, at the close of service, I 
gave a similar invitation to inquirers. The congrega- 
tion was scarcely half out of the house, when this same 



142 From Church to Opera House 

man came towards me, with both hands extended and 
his face beaming. 6 1 have found God and Christ, and 
I am a happy man ! ' 

" He sat beside me and told me the fascinating story. 
He had gone home that Sunday night, taken out from 
his trunk the Bible his mother had put there when he 
left home ; had opened it and knelt before the unseen 
God. He simply, sincerely asked that if there were a 
God at all, and if the Bible were the Word of God, 
and Jesus Christ His Son and the Saviour of man, it 
might be shown him plainly. As he read and prayed 
and sought for light, light was given ; he humbly tried 
to follow every ray and to walk in the light, and the 
path became clearer and plainer and the light fuller 
and brighter, until his eyes rested in faith upon Jesus." 

At about this time — in 1878 — another remarkable 
influence came into Dr. Pierson's life and another teach- 
ing of the Scripture was revealed to him. It was in 
connection with the visit of the sainted George Muller 
of Bristol, England, to America. These two men who 
were to be so closely associated in later years had never 
met. It chanced that, in the providence of God, Dr. 
Pierson had been invited to accompany a party to the 
Pacific Coast for rest and recuperation for a severely 
overstrained body. While in San Francisco he learned 
that George Muller was on the coast and would start 
East on Friday or Saturday. He was somewhat aston- 
ished, as this would involve travelling on the Sabbath 
and, as it was his only opportunity for the coveted in- 
terview, he was sorely tempted to break his own rule 
by taking the same train. After prayerful considera- 
tion he decided not to do so, however, and was rewarded 
by discovering on reaching Ogden that Mr. Muller was 



First Meeting With George Miiller 143 



on the same train. He had not travelled on the Sab- 
bath but had rested at Ogden. Together they jour- 
neyed to Chicago and afterwards Mr. Miiller accepted 
an invitation to visit Detroit. 

Up to this time Dr. Pierson had been an earnest ad- 
vocate of what is known as the " Post-Millennial " view 
of the Lord's Second Coming. Many times he had ad- 
dressed the Presbytery and other bodies on the sub- 
ject and had set forth what seemed to him unanswer- 
able arguments r in the support of this view. Now, 
however, he was led through Mr. Miiller to make a new 
and more careful study of the subject. He says : " Mr. 
Miiller listened patiently to my objections and then 
said, with his celestial smile: 'The only thing I can 
say is that none of your arguments are founded on 
Scripture. It makes no difference what we think but 
what does God's Word say f 9 For ten days he came 
to my study every day and opened up the truth to me. 
Ever since that time I have been looking for the Lord's 
personal return and it has been the inspiration of my 
life." 1 

This doctrine came to be to him a key with which to 
unlock many perplexing difficulties in Biblical theology. 
He says: "Two-thirds of the Book which had been 
sealed to me were opened by this key, and I was per- 
mitted to enter and walk through marvellous chambers 
of mystery." 

Although Mr. Miiller was thirty-two years older than 
his friend and although the days actually spent in each 
other's companionship through life would not aggregate 
one year, it is impossible to estimate all that the friend- 

1 Dr. Pierson's views on the Second Coming are given in a small 
volume entitled " The Coming of the Lord." 



144 From Church to Opera House 

ship meant to Dr. Pierson. Mr. Miiller came into his 
life at a critical time and they were irresistibly drawn 
to each other. Daily for twenty-eight years they re- 
membered each other in prayer until the older man went 
to his reward. Only those who have studied the prayer 
life of Mr. Miiller and know what power he had with 
God can estimate the results of this prayer covenant. 

Meanwhile God seemed to be stirring the nest and 
there were thorns that made it uncomfortable. Dr. Pier- 
son was impressed with the thought that he should work 
more systematically for the masses. Gradually the 
church work seemed to be getting back into old ruts, 
and he found that he could not carry out his ideals for 
simplicity in worship. In spite of the pastor's musical 
talent, the elaborate anthems by the choir were irksome 
to him and too often seemed out of harmony with the 
sermons. He believed in congregational singing and 
said, " God never intended four or forty people to stand 
in a choir and do the singing for all the people." He 
also had an unconquerable aversion to anything that 
seemed to him like formal ritualism or liturgy in a 
church service. With characteristic faithfulness he 
presented his views to his congregation, for he could 
not endure the bondage involved in shaping his course 
to meet the preferences of men. Freedom and truth 
demanded that he deliver his message as he believed it 
came from God. 

It was natural that many, especially among non- 
Christians, should be offended by some of his outspoken 
utterances as he declaimed against Sabbath desecration, 
intemperance, ritualism, rationalism and worldliness. 
Efforts were made to attack his character and to dis- 
credit him in the eyes of the public, but without avail. 



A Pastoral Letter 



H5 



His reputation and his character were in the hands of 
God. 

A year before he left the Fort Street Church Dr. 
Pierson wrote a long pastoral letter to his people which 
he printed and distributed. This letter set forth the 
history of God's dealings with him and with the church 
since his coming. It spoke of his own temptations to 
ambition and self- glory and the entire revolution in his 
own convictions and ideals. After rehearsing the story 
of the fire and the experiences and lessons of the Opera 
House meetings, he went on to say : 

" My conviction was strong that such a church build- 
ing as ours hinders access to the common people. The 
very elegance of its architecture, its furniture, the high 
rate of its pew rents and the air of exclusiveness that 
seemed to outsiders to hang about it would repel a 
poor man. 

" I do not mean to say that my beloved people are 
to blame for the impressions, often unjust, which keep 
the masses out of our place of worship, but it does seem 
to me that if we are really aiming to reach those who 
neglect the Gospel we would build and run our places 
of worship accordingly. Formerly I justified costly 
church edifices, and when our former house was re- 
modelled, I helped to plan its artistic completeness, but 
I believe that God has taught me that the present sys- 
tem of building and conducting churches is a real 
hindrance in saving souls. When, however, the con- 
gregation determined to rebuild in the same style as 
before the fire, I forbore to obtrude my views on the 
people. 

" Next I tried to show that the rental and reserving 
of pews would repel the poor and I offered to serve 
without guaranteed salary if the seats were made 
free. . . . After presenting my views and support- 



146 From Church to Opera House 



ing them on Scriptural basis, I left you, my dear people, 
to decide without any attempt or desire to fetter your 
action. . . . You decided to maintain the former 
system of pew rents but to make them free in the even- 
ing. I worked hard, and during the summer after our 
return to our new church building I took no vacation 
but maintained the Sunday preaching services, the in- 
quiry meetings and prayer-meetings. Yet, as you 
know, from the day of entering our new edifice the 
work of God's grace in conversion has steadily de- 
clined. There have been marked cases of spiritual 
growth among disciples, but the number of converts 
has become smaller each year. 

" With perfect frankness, I wish to lay down plank 
by plank the platform of Bible principles," as I see them, 
on this subject : 

"1. The Church of God exists on earth in great 
part to rescue unsaved souls. 

" 2. The more destitute souls are, the greater is the 
obligation of the church towards them. 

"3. Practical indifference to the salvation of the 
un evangelized forfeits the claim of the church to God's 
blessing or even to a place among His Golden Candle- 
sticks. 

" 4. The twofold work of evangelization and edifi- 
cation must go on side by side. 

" 5. Everything in the church should be adapted to 
these two ends — the salvation of the unsaved and the 
building up of believers. 

" Now as a church are we reaching the results that 
God's promises lead us to expect ? . . . 

" I write this letter only that I may put you into the 
full possession of facts, and that I may impart to you 
any light that I may have received. I could not be 
faithful to you or to God without telling you how 
I look on these matters. I have no plans only to 
follow Him patiently step by step. . . . 

" We must stand by each other and by God in the 
firm resolve to elevate the standard of holy living. I 



The Ideal Church 



H7 



am ready to 1 cross the stream and burn the bridge be- 
hind me.' " 

When the large influx of converts received in the 
Opera House services did not continue, Dr. Pierson 
grew impatient for contact with the masses. Sermons 
on the subject of the " Ideal Church " and the " Mis* 
sion of the Church " were followed by remonstrances 
from his officers who decided that it was unwise either 
to erect another branch church or to do away with the 
ownership of pews. The oflicers expressed their love 
and admiration for their pastor and he reciprocated 
their cordial feeling, but they did not see eye to eye 
with him in these matters of church policy, and he saw 
that it would be difficult for either to yield. It was in- 
evitable therefore that he should listen to the overtures 
of another church that seemed to offer larger oppor- 
tunities to reach the multitudes. It cost him unspeak- 
able sorrow to sunder ties that bound him to his people, 
and it was a difficult matter to pull up the roots that 
had run wide and deep in the interests of city and state, 
but he felt the call of God to leave, and on July 19, 
1882, after thirteen years in Detroit, he resigned his 
charge to accept a call to the Second Presbyterian 
Church of Indianapolis. 



IX 



A YEAE IN INDIANAPOLIS— YICTOEY OE 

DEFEAT ! 

INDIANAPOLIS, the capital of Indiana, is an 
important commercial and political centre, with 
much natural beauty. In 1882 there was among 
its 75,000 inhabitants the usual amount of worldliness 
and carelessness in spiritual matters. The Second Pres- 
byterian Church had had for one of its first pastors 
the famous pulpit orator, Henry Ward Beecher. He 
had ministered to this people for eight years with 
marked success and although he had been away from 
the city for thirty-five years, the memory of his power- 
ful preaching and striking personality was still strong. 
This perhaps influenced the standard set by the pastoral 
committee in their search for a minister. A newspaper 
critic declared, somewhat sarcastically and caustically, 
that " they went to their task with the honest deliber- 
ation of county fair judges deciding upon a prize pig." 

Eight points were agreed upon by this committee as 
those by which they were to judge a pastor's qualifica- 
tions. These were reasonable enough, but their sequence 
was somewhat unfortunate. In order they stood thus : 

1. Personal appearance. 5. Intellectuality. 

2. Pulpit manner. 6. Spirituality. 

3. Delivery. 7. Magnetism. 

4. Yoice. 8. Apparent age. 

The same journalistic critic, who perhaps had not had 
much experience in such delicate work, remarked: 

i 4 8 



Weighing the Call 



149 



" We can readily see why 6 apparent age ' should be 
taken into account in choosing a beefsteak or a chicken 
but not in selecting a pastor." The committee, how- 
ever, reported enthusiastically that the pastor of the 
Fort Street Church, Detroit, met all their requirements 
and had some excellent qualifications in addition. A 
unanimous call was extended to him in June, 1882, but 
he discouraged these advances and suggested that there 
were also some qualifications which a church should 
possess when seeking to obtain the man of their choice. 

" I am in no sense 6 in the market,' " he wrote. " God 
put me in Detroit and has kept me here by marked 
providential signs. I would go anywhere at any cost 
if I could clearly see His blessed hand leading, but I 
have made up my mind never to take one step of my 
own towards a change of field. . . . 

" I have fought here a thirteen years' battle against 
worldliness in the church, against having worldly men 
in the Board of Trustees, worldly singers in the choir, 
and worldly spirit in the church management. I have 
stood for a free church, for the pure Gospel and for a 
deep Christian experience. God has given the victory 
— at least in large measure — for fully three-fourths of 
the church are with me. 

" There is only one reason why I think it possible 
that I may leave Detroit and that is that I have sub- 
stantially completed the work for which God sent me 
here. But I dare not trust my own judgment to make 
a decision. Thousands of ties must be sundered and a 
hundred sceptres of influence laid down. Every 
worldly consideration binds me to Detroit where my 
dearest friends abide. If I go elsewhere it will be only 
that I may reach more souls. If Indianapolis can assure 



iSo 



A Year in Indianapolis 



me freer access to the unsaved and an earnest prayerful 
church to cooperate with me in the effort to evangelize 
the neglected thousands, all I can say is 6 Here am I, 
Lord, send me.' " 

Again and again the call was repeated and the im- 
portunity and arguments of the committee finally per- 
suaded him to visit Indianapolis. Here he was greeted 
with large congregations and received an enthusiastic 
welcome. He was assured that what the people wanted 
was gospel preaching and that the officers would coop- 
erate with him in his efforts to evangelize the non- 
Christian population. This spirit was all that he could 
desire, but the building was inadequate. For six weeks 
he weighed the matter and then with a candour that 
could not be misunderstood he wrote the committee : 

" The Lord seems to restrain me from a decision fa- 
vourable to your call. In a step so momentous and sol- 
emn I have a desire to act with more prayerful and 
hallowed discretion and deliberation than ever before. 
Among the causes of hesitation none is more prominent 
than the exceedingly limited capacity of your church. 
Your membership alone, if all were present at one serv- 
ice, would fill every available sitting. There is there- 
fore no accommodation for other members of the congre- 
gation or for the Sabbath-school. There is no room for 
outsiders at all, and to my mind this is so serious an 
obstacle to all aggressive work that it alone overbal- 
ances all other arguments and attractions which may 
be presented in favour of the field. 

" An audience room whose capacity is barely equal to 
the actual membership of the church not only limits the 
possibility of gathering a proper audience of such as 
need the Gospel, but is a tacit invitation to those who 



Removal From Detroit 151 

may not feel strongly impelled to eome to remain away. 
. . . What force or even honesty can there be in 
extending an invitation to the Sunday-school members, 
which we are not prepared to have them accept? 
Then, of course, for the real power of the Word we 
must have an unconverted element to work upon, the 
larger the better, but where are we to put them? 
You promise to enlarge or build, but the expectation is 
not the same thing as the accomplishment." 

He explained to the church officers the purposes to 
which he had devoted his life and the principles to 
which he was committed, namely, the establishment 
of free churches supported by voluntary contribution 
and the evangelization of the unsaved. He gave them 
copies of his pastoral letters and sermons that had 
aroused opposition in Detroit and they readily agreed 
to the positions and opinions expressed. A congrega- 
tional meeting was called and appointed a committee 
to prepare plans for enlarging the church building 
and to secure an opera house until the more perma- 
nent and commodious accommodations should be pro- 
vided. 

God seemed to be leading in all this, but the ties by 
which he was bound to Detroit were not to be broken 
without an anxious struggle. The roots of friendship 
had gone deep ; the people pleaded with their pastor 
to remain, and their importunity was difficult to resist. 
He said, " My heart is aching to have this matter set at 
rest. Do not censure nor reprove nor even persuade 
me, but pray, pray for me that I may know the will of 
God and that my life may be all for His glory." 

There was also the delightful friendship with Charles 
Buncher, a prominent merchant, who had been led into 



152 



A Year in Indianapolis 



new Christian experience and service during the Opera 
House meetings. This comradeship with a man rip- 
pling with buoyant joy fulness and humour opened up to 
Dr. Pierson a new appreciation of the ministry of good 
cheer. These two men loved each other like brothers, 
and many were the hours they had spent together, 
sometimes in prayer and conference, and at other times 
in repartee and the exchange of humorous anecdotes. 
Such an attachment as that for Dr. George D. Baker, 
pastor of the First Church, meant much to his spiritual 
life. This man's clear judgment and calm counsel were 
invaluable to his friend in many a crisis. 

In the autumn of 1882 Dr. Pierson removed to 
Indianapolis — with the consciousness of God's approval 
of the step and with the confident expectation of larger 
victories for the Master. The six months which fol- 
lowed were not without success, but they were a sore 
disappointment to him. He seemed to fail where he 
had been strongest before, and this period was for years 
one of the mysteries of his life. 

He began by boldly preaching the Gospel of Christ 
and its necessary influence on personal character. He 
had not yet won his people's affection or confidence, 
and was ignorant of their attitude on certain questions 
of popular amusements. He had strict views of what a 
Christian should be and do and appealed strongly for a 
higher type of piety, for an " other-worldly " life. 

" I had not finished my first address," he said later, 
" before some in the audience began to gnash at me 
with their teeth, because I had assaulted their idols 
(not even knowing that they were their idols). It was 
strongly suggested to me that I should stick to the 
Gospel and leave men's personal habits alone." 



Fearless Preaching 



»53 



The advice was given to the wrong man, for Dr. 
Pierson knew not the fear of public disfavour, and he 
did not hesitate to be an iconoclast in breaking the 
idols that the world held dear. He could not withhold 
a rebuke when he made a call one evening unexpectedly 
after prayer-meeting and found some of his church 
officers at home playing cards. 

"While many of the members were stirred to new 
consecration, others seemed predisposed to misunder- 
stand. The pastor had come from a people by whom 
he was known and loved and who were therefore ready 
to receive his rebukes and to welcome his advice. In 
Indianapolis, on the contrary, he was preaching to 
those who were strangers and he felt that they did not 
give him encouragement to preach boldly the truth of 
God as he believed it. There was no lack of numbers 
in attendance at his preaching, for the church was 
crowded. Those who appreciated fearless speaking, 
high spiritual living and deep teaching were enthusias- 
tic. One of his congregation, the attorney-general of 
the state, Daniel P. Baldwin, wrote in his letter of 
appreciation: 

" Your sermons are most helpful because they are 
full of Gospel and Scripture and have little of Pierson 
in them. We in the pews are weary, weary of literary 
essays in the pulpit. There is nothing like the 6 full 
cup ' preaching. After six days of work our spiritual 
natures are parched and shrivelled. The faithful 
preacher's sermon is like the rain on the dry earth. 
We need a special message from the divine Spirit to get 
us ready for the coming week." 

The church work was blessed in many departments 
and there were signs of a coming revival. A weekly 



154 



A Year in Indianapolis 



meeting which was started for church-members for the 
promotion of personal holiness soon outgrew the 
pastor's study and adjourned to the Y. M. C. A. Hall 
and Christians came there from all over the city for 
prayer and Bible study. 

The power of the pastor's prayers was recognized by 
many of his people who felt themselves ushered thereby 
into the very presence of God. One of the church 
officers, with whom he had had some difference of 
opinion, afterwards wrote of one of these inter- 
views : 

"I hope you will still sometimes pray for me in 
secret as you did that day in your study. I would not 
take uncounted millions for that prayer uttered by you 
for me by name. Kneeling sometimes in the secret 
place, I try to recall the words and to imagine that I 
hear them again." 

During the winter months the Grand Opera House 
was rented for Sunday evening services and the large 
numbers who attended were a challenge to the speaker 
to give them his best. He preached a practical gospel 
for e very-day life. The Y. M. C. A. also inaugurated 
a series of weekly Bible lectures under Dr. Pierson's 
leadership and the whole Christian community felt the 
uplift. 1 Letters came telling of new faith and joy in 
Christ and new love for His service. 

Pastors of the city were also stimulated by their new 
colleague, in whom they found not a rival but a friend 
and co-worker. One fellow minister testified that the 
pulpit tone of the entire city was heightened by Dr. 

1 His lectures on Christian evidences were afterwards published in a 
volume, "Many Infallible Proofs," which has been translated into 
many languages of Europe and Asia. 



Henry C. Mabie's Experience 155 



Pierson's public work. " His minute and careful word 
studies helped to drive us younger ministers back to 
our Greek lexicons and Testaments to see if the wealth 
of meaning he brought out was really there." 

One who has often publicly acknowledged his debt 
to Dr. Pierson's ministry and personal counsel is the 
Rev. Henry C. Mabie, D. D., later the home secretary 
of the American Baptist Missionary Union. In 1882 
he was pastor of a Baptist church in Indianapolis and 
had been for some time in broken health. He was 
nervously depressed and had decided to give up the 
ministry. In his trouble he sought a confidential in- 
terview with his neighbour, Dr. Pierson, in whom he 
recognized a man of positive convictions and spiritual 
insight. After a conference lasting several hours, Dr. 
Mabie's faith was strengthened, and as they knelt in 
prayer he testified that he passed through a profound 
realization of God's loving attitude towards him and 
saw the divine meaning of his painful experiences. 

" I shall always feel," he adds, " that Dr. Pierson 
was sent to Indianapolis on a particular errand to me 
at a time when I needed an elder brother. He led me 
to appreciate the importance of the salvation of the 
life career of each believer in Christ, not simply the 
salvation of the soul. God wants to save the life to 
use it in His plan. It was at this crucial point that 
Dr. Pierson found me in my moment of despair. 
From that hour I became an expository preacher and 
determined to risk everything in the work of driving 
home to men's hearts and consciences the divine truths. 
This method instantly revealed to my people the 
change that had taken place in me." 

Dr. Mabie did not give up preaching but entered on a 



A Year in Indianapolis 



long and useful career of service. A revival began in 
his church in which many were converted. 

But while Dr. Pierson's influence was extending to 
the borders of the city, it was evident that there was a 
lack of cooperation in his own church. Six months 
had passed since his installation, and although there 
were signs of steady growth, no steps had been taken 
by the building committee to enlarge the church. To 
suggest it meant friction, to push it meant rupture. A 
few influential men strongly opposed it ; others, desir- 
ing harmony above all things, counselled making no 
move at all ; still others, catching the vision of the 
church's larger destiny, were eager to follow their 
leader to new victories. These last also felt that their 
promise had been given at the time of the call when 
they had agreed to his conditions. 

Dr. Pierson urged enlarging, rebuilding or coloniz- 
ing — any plan that would give an opportunity for 
growth — but there was no response. On April 20th 
he wrote to his session after a night of prayer and 
mental distress that he felt so hedged about that he 
was driven to resign. " I wish," he said, " to quietly 
withdraw and leave the church in peace to pursue 
what seems to me to be a mistaken — yes, even a suici- 
dal policy." 

The resignation was like a bombshell to most of the 
congregation and for a time threatened to disrupt the 
church. The pastor therefore consented to withdraw 
his resignation temporarily until he could explain his 
position to all the members. A month later a congre- 
gational meeting was called together and without mak- 
ing any accusation of unfair dealing or even revealing 
his bitter disappointment the pastor asked his people to 



The Tabernacle Movement 157 



accede to his wishes and to maintain their undivided 
allegiance to the church organization. With no other 
church in view and with no knowledge of whence he 
might expect support for his family of ten, he repeated 
his request for release and it was granted. A news- 
paper reporter commented on this action as follows : 

" It is not often, in an age so devoted to the pursuit 
and adoration of wealth as this is, that a person resigns 
a position with an income of $5,000 a year, and goes 
out into the world to preach without the least assur- 
ance of pay, literally trusting that ' the Lord will pro- 
vide.' Dr. Pierson's religious enthusiasm has also led 
him to distribute to religious or charitable societies all, 
or nearly all, the savings of past years. There is a 
picture on which Robert Ingersoll may gaze with rever- 
ence. While the brilliant infidel is defending the vilest 
criminals for about $100 a day, the preacher is sacrific- 
ing wealth and social position for a precarious exist- 
ence at the bidding of a call which he believes to be 
sacred." 

When the fact of his resignation became known 
there was a determined effort on the part of another 
church in the city to secure Dr. Pierson's services. 
They promised to build a free tabernacle, and to con- 
form its management in all things to his ideas. A 
number of leading, spiritually minded men agreed to 
serve as elders, deacons and trustees, and hundreds of 
letters followed him to the little retreat to which he 
had gone to be alone. Details of the plans, which 
were really of his own suggesting, were laid before 
him, and he was not only urged to father the new work 
but many felt that he could not conscientiously decline. 
This call which seemed to him to present such a longed- 



158 A Year in Indianapolis 



for opportunity did not commend itself to his friends. 
A letter of excellent counsel was written to him by his 
friend, Charles Buncher, of Detroit, in which he says : 

" I am convinced that you stand at the critical period 
of your life. Either you will be led wisely and will 
become a greater power for the Master or you will in- 
crease in restlessness and so lessen your influence and 
give your enemies greater opportunity for criticism. 
. . . I do not believe you can make an independent 
tabernacle movement a success because no man can. 
The churches would fight it, the devil would fight it, 
and your soul would wear out your body for very vexa- 
tion. Give your best labour to a good earnest church, 
cultivating that vineyard and from that centre reach- 
ing out to the masses." 

His diaries and letters to his wife attest the days and 
nights of struggle through which he passed. His own 
will was towards Indianapolis, where all that he most 
wished for seemed so easy of attainment. He looked for 
signs of external leading, but there were none. He wrote : 
"I cannot get peace on this Indianapolis tabernacle 
matter. The friends there press me more and more and 
every letter wrenches me anew, until it seems as though 
I should go crazy. My nervous system is prostrated. 
I can find no rest. . . . There must be something lack- 
ing in my prayers or the dear Lord would not fail me. 
. . ." Later he added : " God has answered. I arose 
at midnight to ask for light. God showed me that in 
all this movement I had been willful and stubborn, how- 
ever conscientious. I had been heedless of consequences. 
I spent the night in prayer beseeching God to enable 
me to give up my own will, and He did. I then made 
an entire surrender of this darling project and cove- 



Healing a Breach 



159 



nanted with God not to take another step without His 
manifest leading. It became plain to me that I had 
been fighting against God, persisting in my own way, 
blind to providential hindrances. ... I can see 
now that the more successful the tabernacle movement 
might be, the more it might hurt the Second Church 
and the more it might deplete the weaker organizations 
of the city." 

When the seventeenth of July came, the day on which 
six years before the father and three children had so 
narrowly escaped drowning, Dr. Pierson wrote his 
wife : 

"The sweet peace of God is given me to-day — 
this anniversary day which is sad and yet joyful — this 
day on which we gave ourselves and our loved ones to 
the dear Lord. God has laid His hand on me, restrain- 
ing me, and I have ceased to fight for my own will. I 
have written to Indianapolis declining the call. I shall 
be abused and misrepresented, charged with breach of 
faith, but it is a small thing to be judged of man's 
judgment since He that judgeth me is the Lord. The 
only thing that disturbs me is that my work in 
Indianapolis seems destructive so far and not construct- 
ive — a church rent, another in formative state without 
leader or guide and threatening to fall asunder, the 
enemy triumphant, reproaches falling on friends for 
their adherence to me — disappointment in the work 
begun for the Lord. ... I feel as though I had 
been beaten sore and bruised from head to foot. I ache 
at the very remembrance." 

In this spiritual struggle Dr. Pierson's physical 
strength very nearly broke down, but the decision was 
followed by tokens of God's approval. From time to 
time testimonies reached him from members of his 



i6o 



A Year in Indianapolis 



former church and Bible classes in Indianapolis. One 
of them reads : 

" To me there is no mystery about the purpose of 
God in bringing you here. It is being revealed in the 
lives of many who by you were led into truths that 
centre in the higher Christian experience and who are 
now entering into the full enjoyment of them. Your 
reward will come in the revelation." 

Five years later the Second Presbyterian Church of 
Indianapolis invited Dr. Pierson to attend their semi- 
centennial exercises and he had great pleasure in doing 
so. The correspondence with one of the church officers 
who had been especially antagonistic shows the change 
that the years had wrought. 

"February % 1889. 

" My dear Dr. Pierson : 

"The portrait of yourself which came in due 
time now adorns our pretty chapel. It hangs there in 
company with other honoured and beloved pastors, re- 
minding us of the precious truths you taught and 
illustrated during your ministry among us. There were 
some things, many things perhaps to be regretted — things 
which would not occur again. Sorrowing over them as 
I recall them I wish to introduce what I have it in my 
heart to say to you now. 

" Your return at our anniversary time was a most 
happy event. What you said to us in public was most 
precious. It went to all our hearts like a benediction. 
It gave us a foretaste of the language of our Father's 
house, and of the spirit of love that is to be our own in 
common with all His children when at home in heaven. 
Those kind words drew us to you then as we had not 
been drawn before. 

" Now, let me say a more personal word, referring to 
that time when the cross purposes were going on between 
us in regard to our church work. ... I know my 



Five Years Later 



161 



faults and that there are in me elements that constantly 
have to be watched lest they bring me into collision 
with other earnest and positive natures. But pray for 
me, pray in the secret place as you used to pray when 
here. I hope to meet you again in earthly places — and 
so allow me to subscribe myself, 

" Your affectionate friend, 

u » 

To this letter Dr. Pierson replied : 

" My dear Brother : 

" The blessed Spirit of God must have had full 
sway in your heart when you wrote that beautiful letter 
of February 24th. I have had nothing come to me in 
the course of twenty years more laden with precious 
fragrance from God's Garden of Spices. 

" My residence in Indianapolis I always look back to 
with unfeigned sorrow and regret. But I want you 
and the dear friends in the Second Church to know 
that it is sorrow and regret for my own deficiencies. I 
had not the requisite patience to wait for results that 
from their nature come slowly. I was full of a certain 
sort of enthusiasm and I fear it gave much heat to my 
nature. I was not calm and could not be content to 
gain the confidence and cooperation of the people by 
slow degrees. But I learned many a lesson that is 
daily blessed to me. 

" Brother, you and I are both rapidly nearing the 
final change. We both know how insignificant are all 
those little chafings and frettings that often alienate 
brethren. I am glad to say, in full and hearty response 
to your thoroughly Christian letter, that in my heart 
only a great love burns towards my beloved brethren 
in the church at Indianapolis. With love to your entire 
household and many prayers for your good old age 
with perpetual sunshine. 

" Affectionately yours, 

"Arthur T. Pierson." 



162 A Year in Indianapolis 



This letter brought the following response : 

" From the bottom of my heart I thank you for your 
letter. It is very precious to me and many times I 
have thanked God for it. He only could have inspired 
it. The words linger in my memory and sing to me by 
day and by night. Notwithstanding the short time 
you were here, there is much in your ministry for which 
I am thankful. You preached the Gospel faithfully 
and savingly. I thank God that I was permitted to 
hear it. I do not know that I ever addressed you as 
4 my dear pastor ' while I might have done so. It is in 
my heart to do so now. I know of no one at whose 
feet I would more gladly sit to learn of Him whom 
you serve and whom I trust I also love. . . . Your 
letter has made me value my membership in the house- 
hold of faith more than ever before. The sacred office 
of the ministry also assumes more real and personal 
nearness to me." 

The story of the breach and its healing, the story of 
the lesson and its learning is complete. 

Without doubt the greatest benefits of the Indianap- 
olis experience were the lessons learned by Dr. Pierson 
himself — a conviction which he expressed in a letter to 
former parishioners in Detroit : 

" I believe that I was sent here as much for my own 
instruction as for service. I have learned in these 
short months lessons as to human nature, and my own 
nature ; in ways to do the Lord's work so as to reap 
results. I see now how I might have changed my min- 
istry in Detroit so as to double my usefulness, if I had 
only had another spirit in my work. I have strong con- 
victions and am often impatient for results. I might 
have drawn those whom I repelled and might have as- 
similated where I failed to mould ; might have led 



Some Lessons Learned 



where I drove. I will henceforth try the new force of 
love and patience and prayerfulness, not urging my 
own views unduly but putting responsibility where it 
belongs. My chief work seems to be to bring disciples 
to a higher level. Oh, that I could with present expe- 
rience bring back lost opportunities and start afresh 
with my new knowledge of myself or others and of 
God." 

Dr. Pierson's experience and success in evangelistic 
work led him to think seriously of devoting himself to 
general evangelism. He wrote to friends about it but 
they discouraged any such departure. One faithful ad- 
viser wrote : 

" I believe your place is at the head of a large flour- 
ishing, progressive and aggressive church. God has 
fitted you to be a teacher rather than an evangelist. 
Frankly I do not think you are sympathetic enough 
for a popular evangelist. I do not think you could 
draw the hearts of these masses as your soul yearns to do." 

God had manifestly been preparing His servant for a 
more educational ministry, and when the lesson of pa- 
tience and submission had been learned in Indianapolis 
He opened the door into another field which was more 
nearly to his mind. Bethany Church, Philadelphia, 
was a large congregation of middle class wage-earners 
and with it was connected a still larger Sunday-school, 
superintended by John Wanamaker. This church now 
gave him a hearty call but the very size of the church 
was now a cause for hesitation. Dr. Pierson wrote : 

" My desire is to take a small church and mould it to 
my mind. To have a Sunday-school with Bible models, 
maps, etc., instead of a library with passing fiction ; 
an undenominational sort of church, with a font for 



164 



A Year in Indianapolis 



immersion of those who believe in that form of bap- 
v tism." 

He frankly stated his premillennial views and ex- 
pressed his desire for inquiry meetings after the preach- 
ing services. The reply from Mr. Wanamaker took the 
arguments he had offered against coming and turned 
them into reasons for acceptance. "It seemed," he 
wrote, " as I read your views and your plans as though 
you must have hovered about us and our church all 
these years, and stood over the Bethany work to make 
me and the church so closely akin in spirit and life to 
what is your ideal. I believe through and through in 
your plan for a broad Bible church. Strange, isn't it, 
that builded into Bethany, covered up until wanted, is 
a baptismal pool waiting for the man wise and brave 
enough to use it! For years we have taught our 
scholars to bring their Bibles to Sunday-school. We 
have no Sunday-school library. We discarded it ten 
years ago, disgusted with the silly fiction it was dis- 
tributing, so that the way is clear for any new plan. 
Your ' after meeting' thought has been one of the 
plans in our hearts for some time. And I have always 
held the view of our Lord's Second Coming with you 
and take comfort in the blessed hope that His day may 
dawn at any moment." 

It was not to be wondered at that Dr. Pierson felt 
that God had taken out of his way every obstacle, and 
seemed to have made the work for him and him for 
the work. After a series of conferences in Philadelphia 
he accepted the call and entered upon his work in the 
autumn of 1883, at forty-six years of age — in the prime 
of life. " The call to Philadelphia," he said, " came by 
way of the Indianapolis pastorate." 



X 



THE PHILADELPHIA PASTORATE — THE FIELD 
AND THE FORCE 



heart such a church — ideal not in its attainment but in 
spirit and purpose. He set as a standard four charac- 
teristics : 

" (1) Evangelical in faith ; one that accepts and 
adopts the Bible teachings as the rule of life. 

" (2) Evangelistic ; one that seeks to obey the com- 
mand of Christ to carry the Gospel to every creature. 

" (3) Educative ; one that aims to reform and in- 
struct the individual so as to benefit the family, the 
commonwealth, the nation and the world. 

" (4) One that will not tolerate the spirit of caste, 
and in which the seats are free to all who will come." 

Dr. Pierson had heard of Bethany Church and of its 
founder, John Wanamaker, and was prejudiced against 
both. He had been given an idea that the Sunday- 
school was entirely too unconventional. That some- 
times it was like a school, at other times like a salva- 
tion army meeting, and at others more like a circus. 
He had thought that the superintendent was an am- 
bitious, adventurous young man who did things, but 
did them in his own fearful and wonderful way, as 
though with wind, water and steam all at once. Some 
of these impressions had been corrected before the first 




HE Ideal Church " usually exists only in 
the mind of man or in the plan of God. 
Arthur T. Pierson had before his mind and 



165 



166 The Philadelphia Pastorate 



intimation of a call reached him, but when it was sug- 
gested that this would be a good field of labour he 
replied : " I may some day take a pastorate in Phila- 
delphia, but never in Bethany." He said later that he 
was thankful that kind Providence had pigeonholed 
that remark along with his wife's statement that 
she might some day marry — but never a minister. 

Philadelphia was then the third city in size in the 
United States — conservative in social and religious ideas, 
a city famous for the number of its homes for thrifty 
wage-earners of moderate means. Bethany Church 
was composed largely of people of the middle class, 
earnest and sympathetic. Sittings were rented, but at 
so low a rate that they were within reach of the poorest. 
The work was well organized and the evangelistic 
spirit was strong. The membership was nearly double 
that of either the Detroit or the Indianapolis church, 
and the Sunday-school was one of the largest and best 
equipped in the land. 

Bethany had had a unique history. One winter 
afternoon in February, 1858, John Wanamaker, a 
young man then twenty years of age, went with a 
missionary of the American Sunday-school Union, E. 
H. Toland, to start a mission school iu the second story 
back room of a humble house on Pine Street, Philadel- 
phia. The workers and the few children who came 
together were soon driven out by rowdies who were 
terrors to the neighbourhood. Not at all discouraged 
Mr. Wanamaker found another room on South Street 
and there began his Bethany mission, with twenty- 
seven children and four teachers. The work grew and 
when summer came the school moved into a large tent 
accommodating four hundred people. Services were 




INTERIOR OF THE FAMOUS BETHANY SUNDAY SCHOOL 



The Beginning of the Work 



167 



held on Sunday nights and men and women were con- 
verted. Prayer-meetings were added and in 1865 a 
church was organized with twenty members. Twenty 
years later there was a church-membership of 1,500 
and a Sunday-school of 2,500. The brown stone build- 
ings which housed them were together capable of 
accommodating audiences of five thousand and they 
represented an investment of half a million dollars, 
although most of the members were far from wealthy. 
In this twenty years that whole section of the city 
had been transformed. Drinking saloons, and low 
hovels had given way to well-built but economical 
homes. Sobriety, thrift and piety were evident where 
once drunkenness, crime and idleness prevailed. 

To this attractive field Dr. Pierson was called on 
June 27, 1883, before he had ever preached in Bethany 
pulpit or had even attended the prayer-meeting. When 
he was offered a salary of $5,000 a year, he replied : 
" I will go alone with God in prayer for a week or 
more before I decide." He went to Magara-on-the- 
Lake and after a month wrote to the committee : 

" I have a divine assurance that I should come to 
Bethany and have decided to accept the call but not 
the $5,000 a year. That would be too much more than 
the average income of the members and would prevent 
me from getting as close to them as a pastor should. I 
will come for $3,000 a year. We can live nicely on 
that and still give our tenth to the Lord." 

He entered upon the work in October with a deter- 
mination to devote his best energies to the development 
of his new people as a working force for the evangeli- 
zation of the city, the nation and the world. He found 
able and consecrated co-workers. Mr. Wanamaker 



1 68 The Philadelphia Pastorate 



proved a true friend, a generous and loyal supporter of 
every good project suggested by the pastor, and was a 
warm personal friend and a wise counsellor. 

The first year in Bethany was spent in studying the 
local conditions and the available forces at close range, 
in efforts to build up the existing services and organi- 
zations and in making 2,000 pastoral calls. The oppor- 
tunities had not been misrepresented, but there were 
enough hindrances to call forth all the pastor's energies 
and to send him to Grod for wisdom and power. 

1. First there was a debt of $47,000 which caused 
a disinclination on the part of the people to undertake 
any new work involving expense. 

2. The work of ministering to three or four thou- 
sand people was too heavy for one man who was to be 
pastor, preacher and teacher, but there were no funds 
with which to pay an assistant. 

3. There was a lay college in which secular subjects 
were taught, but it was in debt and added to the finan- 
cial burden of the church. The secular seemed also to 
be obscuring the spiritual in the college work. 

4. There were cases of open sin in the congregation, 
which caused unbelievers to blaspheme and hindered 
spiritual growth. 

5. There seemed to be a lack of sufficient material for 
strong church officers. Among the noble and able men 
in the congregation comparatively few had leisure, piety, 
tact and intelligence combined in such proportions as 
to make them strong elders, trustees and deacons. 

6. The church officers were so busy that it was dif- 
ficult to secure their attendance generally at prayer- 
meeting or even at session meetings. 

7. Some of the minor organizations had been in- 



Facing New Problems 169 



vaded by a spirit of strife and seemed to be promoting 
dissention. 

As he studied these problems and elements of weak- 
ness he wrote in his private devotional diary : 

" I must cast myself on God and never let a day be- 
gin or end without prayer and devotional Bible study. 
I must be careful to be always on guard against ill-tem- 
per or impatience or morbid moods and must do nothing 
without sanctifying it with the Word of God and 
prayer. Above all I must make constant supplication 
for spiritual power and anointing. I must watch for 
souls as one who is to give account unto God. The 
Lord is under no restraint to save by many or by few. 
He can show how to pay the debt and how to meet ex- 
penses. We need frequent meetings of the session for 
prayer and conference. Every sermon must be a con- 
secrated effort to win souls." 

The first strengthening of the bulwarks and the 
training of the working force was in the famous Sun- 
day-school. A teachers' meeting for consecration was 
held and the class for the exposition of the Sunday- 
school lessons, which had been discontinued, was re- 
vived. The pastor assumed charge of this class and the 
growth in attendance was so rapid that frequently 
there were more than one thousand present. With the 
help of a large blackboard Dr. Pierson taught the inter- 
national lesson for the coming Sabbath in an informal, 
practical way that drew many teachers from all over 
the city. A little later he was petitioned to give these 
lectures to all the teachers of the city every Saturday 
afternoon in the Y. M. C. A. Hall. There he continued 
the work for several years and many testimonies speak 
of the blessings received in these gatherings. These 



170 The Philadelphia Pastorate 



lesson studies became one of the greatest features of 
his Philadelphia ministry. He put hours of study, and 
a large measure of vital energy into this work, planning 
unique outlines, acrostics and rhymes to help deficient 
memories. 

In the Sunday-school work John Wanamaker was a 
faithful co-labourer whose letters to his officers and 
teachers were often inspired by the pastor's words. In 
one of these letters he wrote : 

"Dear Fellow Teacher: 

" I have just come from Bethany teachers' meeting 
and am thinking of the earnest talk that followed the 
pastor's lesson. It was about winning souls. I wish 
all the teachers could have heard it. God Himself 
seemed to be opening a door to each of us for service. 
Some of us have been 6 saying lessons ' to our classes. 
We have been entertaining and friendly with our schol- 
ars but is it not possible to do more ? Choose one in 
your class and work and pray for that one to bring that 
soul to Christ and when God honours your faith pick 
some one else and see how many souls God will give 
you by the next communion. . . . 'He that win- 
neth souls is wise.' " 

With such a pastor, such a superintendent, and with 
many consecrated officers and teachers, it is not sur- 
prising that Bethany Sunday-school was and is famous 
the world over. The large, well-lighted building, seat- 
ing 3,000, is in many respects a model of construction. 
A fountain plays in the centre ; large class rooms open 
out on all sides ; circular seats bring teachers and pupils 
close together ; the platform holds a large orchestra and 
back of it is space for the platform class. 

Bethany was a church school, under the close super- 
vision of the session, and included in its membership 



The Lay College 



171 



those of all ages and conditions from the children just 
learning to walk to tottering old men and women. The 
aim of the school was that it should include the whole 
church in the systematic study of the Word of God. 
The show of uplifted Bibles each Sunday in all classes 
revealed the fact that this was indeed a Bible school. At 
the inquiry meetings after the close of the session many 
hearts have been given to Christ. 

One unique feature of the Bethany work was the 
college which had been founded in 1880 to offer an 
opportunity to day workers for evening studies. It met 
twice a week for three terms of nine weeks each. In 
addition to twelve secular branches Dr. Pierson organ- 
ized a religious department to include lectures on Chris- 
tian Doctrine, Church History, and practical work. 
The tuition fee to members was only twenty-five cents 
a term and the enrollment was over seven hundred. 
The entire body of students took the courses under the 
pastor, and one encouraging result was the linking of 
the religious with the secular in such a way as to bring 
God more into daily life. New interest was aroused 
in practical godliness and many developed a taste for 
religious knowledge and activity. An "Evangelist 
Band" of young men was organized, with thirty members 
pledged to do definite Christian work. On their knees, 
the members of this band signed a solemn agreement : 

" In joining the Evangelist Band, I purpose with 
God's help to maintain and live, not only a strictly 
moral and temperate life, but to be an example to all 
believers in godliness and purity, and to devote such 
portion of my time as may be consistent with other 
duties to the direct work of witnessing for Christ and 
of winning souls to Him." 



172 The Philadelphia Pastorate 



Then these young men went out conquering and to 
conquer. They visited houses and established cottage 
prayer-meetings. They started a branch Sunday-school 
and mission in an outlying district. They preached in 
open lots and won men and women to Christ. 

The work outgrew the supervising power of one pas- 
tor, and Thomas C. Horton, a young business man who 
had been led into Christian work under Dr. Pierson's 
ministry in Indianapolis, was called to be assistant pas- 
tor. Under his leadership the young men put up a 
gospel tent in a neglected quarter of the city. They 
secured the use of a vacant lot, dug post-holes, bought 
lumber and with their own hands built a high board 
fence, a platform and benches. There they held Sun- 
day-school and preaching services. So great was the 
interest that in the autumn they put in stoves and con- 
tinued the services during the winter. The young men 
acquired a taste for soul- winning and the whole work of 
Bethany Church shared in the blessing. The spirit of 
personal work spread through the congregation; in 
three months the list of converts reached 538, many of 
whom were enrolled in classes for further instruction. 
All this was done without special advertising, paid 
evangelists or extra services. Of the original Evangel- 
ist Band several were led either into the mission field, 
into the home ministry or into some other distinctive 
Christian service. 1 The mission itself developed into 
the John Chambers Memorial Church, now an inde- 
pendent and strong organization. 

1 The results of these and former experiences Dr. Pierson put into a 
volume entitled, " Evangelistic Work in Principle and Practice. " This 
has been widely published and translated and has led to the establish- 
ment of similar bands and training schools in London and elsewhere. 



An Ideal Charge to a Pastor 



»73 



"When Mr. Horton was ordained and installed as as- 
sistant pastor, Dr. Pierson gave to him an impressive 
and unique charge, the outline of which is worth quot- 
ing as a model for such an occasion : 

" You have crossed a line which you cannot recross 
from simple membership in the church into its min- 
istry. 

" You are a minister of the Word and your great 
work is to study and unfold that Word. 

" You are a minister of Jesus Christ. The Word is 
mainly precious as the casket which enshrines this 
priceless jewel. 4 In the Yolume of the Book it is 
written of Me.' 

" You are a minister of the Holy Spirit. The appli- 
cation of the Word of God and the blood of Christ is 
solely committed to Him. . . . My brother, you 
are to be a Bible man, a Christ man, a Holy Spirit man. 

" You are a minister of the Church. For the sake of 
the Church the ministry exists. You are to be a winner 
of souls, a keeper of souls, to gather God's penitent be- 
lievers out of the world and gather them into His fold. 

" The pastor is literally a shepherd, which implies a 
flock. The pastoral duties are to lead, to feed, to 
guard, and to govern. 

" 1. Leadership. The Good Shepherd ' goeth be- 
fore ' his sheep. He leads rather than drives. He 
goes before by voice and by example. 

" 2. Feeding the flock. The sheep and lambs have 
every variety of spiritual need and you are to search 
for the variety of food adapted to these needs. 

" 3. Guarding the flock. David slew the lion and 
the bear lest a kid might be lost. He risked his own 
life to save the humblest of the flock. 

" 4. Governing the flock. The pastoral staff is a 
symbol of authority. Church government and disci- 
pline are sadly in danger in these days. Take firm hold 
of your pastoral staff, for you will need to use it in lov- 
ing but faithful correction. 



174 The Philadelphia Pastorate 



"In all these duties you will need to follow the 
vChief Shepherd. With your eye on Him, you cannot 
go far astray. . . . 

" Y ouv pulpit will, I hope, be not only in the church 
but in any place where you can, by tongue or pen, 
appeal to men in the stead of Christ — a street corner, 
a dry- goods box, a green hillock or a stone by the 
wayside. 

" Your library will, I hope, be mainly composed of 
four books, constantly and carefully studied — the book 
of God's Word, the book of God's works, the book of 
God's providence or history, and the book of human 
nature. To understand these four volumes is to be a 
master workman. 

" Your sermons will, I hope, be largely living epistles 
composed of your own beautiful example and the lives 
of those converted through your instrumentality, — liv- 
ing sermons. 

" Your weddings, may they be many ! joining peni- 
tent believers like chaste virgins to Christ the heavenly 
bridegroom. 

" Your funerals, may they be equally numerous ! 
burying the sins of transgressors out of sight — the 
doubts, vices, inconsistencies of professed disciples in 
the sepulchre of a forsaken past. 

" Your vacations — may they be frequent in the re- 
lief and refreshment of daily prayer and communion 
with God, resting in Him and with Him. 

" Your parish is broader than this church and will 
be found wherever there is a soul to be saved. 

" Your monument will be found in the hearts and 
lives of disciples whom you have benefited." 

Mr. Horton proved to be a noble helper in the work 
of the church. His cheerful optimism and his hearty 
response to any plan suggested by the pastor levelled 
the mountains and exalted the valleys to prepare the 
way of the Lord. 



A Vision of the Future 



175 



The White Kibbon Army was organized in Bethany 
on December 7, 1884, with Dr. Pier son as its first' 
president, and soon had five hundred pledged to tem- 
perance in the church and Sunday-school. This organ- 
ization afterwards spread to practically every state in 
the Union and in a few years enrolled thousands of 
members. 

Other plans suggested by the pastor were adopted 
— some of them with temporary and some with per- 
manent success. There were organizations covering 
numerous interests for all classes and all ages. A par- 
tial list includes : — the Ladies' Prayer-meeting, the 
Ladies' Foreign Missionary Society, the Dorcas So- 
ciety, Young Ladies' Aid Society, Evangelists' Band, 
Young Christians' Association, Young Ladies' Prayer- 
meeting, Young Girls' Association, Busy Bees (for chil- 
dren), Young People's Society, Male Choir, Converts' 
Class, Bethany Aid, Door Men's Association, and 
Bethany College. 

In connection with the twentieth anniversary of Beth- 
any Church in 1885, the pastor outlined in his sermon 
on " The Vision of the Future " more of his concep- 
tions of the standards a church should seek to attain. 
Much is worth quoting, but there is space for but a few 
paragraphs : 

" I. Financial Outlook. Money is at the root of 
most good things in the world as well as of a great 
many evil things. I say without hesitation that the 
basis of church prosperity is largely a financial basis. 
When Aaron and Hur held up the hands of Moses they 
first seated him on a stone. He had a firm place on 
which to rest. How can a pastor or church work for 
Christ when in the miry clay of debt ? Let there be a 
solid material basis and then the work of evangeliza- 



176 The Philadelphia Pastorate 



tion can go forward. Money is a stepping-stone to 
good or a stumbling-stone to ruin. But in addition to 
the removal of the debt we need to cultivate habits of 
systematic, proportionate giving. Hundreds of people 
come and go week after week without taking any real 
share in the financial burden of the church. If there 
is anything I seek to secure it is that every man, 
woman and child shall be a giver in the house of God. 
. . . So here is my financial outlook — the debt paid 
off, every bill honoured, every repair and improvement 
necessary completed, and all members of this congrega- 
tion conscientious givers as God has prospered them, 
by pennies, dimes and dollars, for the purposes of the 
kingdom of God. 

" II. The Social Outlook. The church is a society 
and needs a spirit of fellowship and union. In a large 
church it is difficult to maintain acquaintance and so 
there often develops a spirit of caste. Everybody who 
comes should be welcomed, whether he comes with 
ragged clothes and an unwashed face or rolls up to the 
door in a carriage. . . . 

" III. The Educational Outlook. It is a great mis- 
take to undervalue culture. One with the grace of 
God in his heart and an educated mind can do more 
than one without trained intellect. Culture elevates 
the whole sphere of our employments and amusements. 
The college, with its growing power over the young 
people, will do an educative work that is not to be de- 
spised ; for years, perhaps for generations to come, the 
influence will be felt. 

" IY. The Spiritual Outlook. This is the most im- 
portant of all, for spirituality lies both at the bottom 
and top of all true living. . . . God must be mag- 
nified in the whole service. . . . The singing and 
preaching must not exalt human art. . . . Pros- 
perity does not consist in numbers. Sensationalism 
may draw a crowd but the greatest power is in the 
consecrated few. . . . Do not mistake the enthusi- 
asm of numbers for the influence of the Holy Spirit. 



Raising the Mortgage 



*77 



. . . Magnify the power of the prayer of faith and 
the spirit of evangelism. . . . The church that 
does nothing for outsiders will do poorly by insiders." 

At the first anniversary of the church after he had 
assumed the pastorate, Dr. Pierson asked his people to 
undertake to lift the load of the $45,000 debt, the 
$2,000 floating indebtedness having already been paid. 
His friends urged him to let it alone on the ground that it 
had been incurred previous to his pastorate and that the 
business conditions and poverty of his people were not 
favourable to such an undertaking. One friend wrote : 

" You are treating yourself as if you were the same 
Goliath in body that you are in spirit. But you are not. 
I wish I could push you into an easy chair and make 
you stay there. You're burning the candle at both ends. ' ' 

But he was not to be deterred from the effort to 
remove what he believed to be an incubus on the 
church. He began a systematic endeavour to educate 
the people into a higher standard of giving and to 
teach them the joy and blessing of it. Sermons and 
midweek prayer-meetings considered the Bible stand- 
ards of benevolence. It was shown that among the 
Hebrews the people were required to give a poll-tax, 
tithes and first fruits. In addition to that there were 
free-will offerings and jubilee gifts. The pastor ex- 
plained that the New Testament standard is even 
higher and that a Christian's gifts are judged, not by 
the amount he gives, but by the amount and proportion 
he keeps. Selfishness grows by indulgence ; so does 
liberality. A careful estimate was made of the re- 
sources of the congregation and it was found that the 
total yearly income of 500 families would be not less 



] 78 The Philadelphia Pastorate 



than $300,000. One-tenth of that sum would yield 
a revenue of not less than $30,000. Next he called 
the congregation together and explained the need of 
paying the debt and his own conviction that the way 
to do it was not to get up entertainments and sales but 
to honour the Lord with their substance, little or great, 
and with the first-fruits of all their increase. He told 
of a woman who was asked to be one of one hundred 
ladies to give a small gift of $2.00 each to missions. 
She declined on the ground that she was already giving 
all that she was able. The subscription plan failed and 
then this woman suggested a Missionary Supper, with 
contributed articles of food and tickets at fifty cents 
each. She was interested in the success of the plan and 
agreed to give two turkeys and to buy five tickets. Thus 
she spent her time and paid six dollars in money, 
whereas she had thought she could not afford to give 
two dollars outright. Even though such methods may 
at first realize more money, giving brings more satisfac- 
tory results in the end. In the 4 'Supper Plan," also, the 
money did not all go to missions and the givers were 
not trained in unselfish benevolence. 

The Bethany people caught the pastor's enthusiasm 
and a few prosperous members gave largely on condi- 
tion that the whole amount should be raised. The poor 
also gave generously. A self-denial society was started, 
every member of which promised to pay ten cents a 
week extra saved from personal expenditures. The pay- 
ments were made to authorized collectors and were en- 
tered in a pass-book. Jugs were furnished in which ad- 
ditional sums could be deposited. There were quarterly 
meetings of the society, open to members only, and at 
the annual meetings reports were given and jugs were 



Burning the Mortgage 179 

broken. The members were divided into sections as 
follows : 

1. Tobacco section. — For smokers and chewers. It 
being conceded that any one who used the weed could 
easily deny himself the worth of a dime a week. 

2. Anti-tobacco section. — For abstainers. If some 
can spend money on the luxury of tobacco, those who 
do not can give at least ten cents a week. 

3. Nicknack section. — For ladies who can save from 
sweetmeats, ribbons, pin money. 

4. Housekeepers' section. — For housewives, to encour- 
age economy in table expenses and luxuries. 

The result of the pastor's teaching and of the self- 
denial society was seen in many members and yielded 
during the next year an income of $25,000 for church 
expenses and benevolence. In four years the happy re- 
sult was 'that the whole amount of the debt was sub- 
scribed and one Sunday morning the gifts were brought 
and laid on the communion table as an offering to God. 
None were impoverished by the experience but many 
were enriched in their spiritual lives. 

The occasion of "Burning the Mortgage" was a 
memorable one. It was planned to resemble a funeral 
with a joyous conclusion and notices were sent out as 
follows : 

" Notice. Died, after a lingering illness, by violent 
collapse, Bethany Mortgage, last survivor of the church 
debt. As his life was only a curse, his death is only a 
blessing. Consequently there are no mourners. The 
funeral ceremonies will be observed as an occasion of 
thanksgiving and congratulation." 

Some of the daily papers found only occasion for 
criticism, so that Dr. Pierson prefaced his original 



I So The Philadelphia Pastorate 

"Poem on the Burning of the Mortgage" by a few 
words of reference to their attacks. 

" I beg to say in behalf of the Committee that in the 
joyful rebound from the bondage of many years, we 
have felt that it would be entirely in keeping to call 
our neighbours and friends together to rejoice with us. 
This old debt seemed to us like some vampire that 
had been sucking our very blood and threatening our 
very life. And as it was believed that vampires had 
some strange life that could only be destroyed by 
cutting off their heads and burning their hearts, we 
thought it entirely innocent on our part to cancel the 
face of this mortgage and then reduce it to ashes. 
. . . This death was no occasion for mourning, but 
rather for rejoicing. The idea of death suggested the 
kindred idea of a final disposition of the carcass of this 
vampire. That we might avoid offense to propriety, we 
chose not burial, which is a Christian custom, but crema- 
tion or burning which is a modern and scientific method 
of preventing unhealthy results from natural decay. 

"It is a matter of regret to us that our program 
has attracted the adverse criticism of the public and 
especially of the newspapers. A proper consideration 
of the delicate taste and tender conscience of the press 
would have led us to avoid all such breaches of propriety. 
The newspapers are themselves very particular never to 
spread in their columns needless, disgusting details of 
crime to poison the imagination of young readers ; they 
never issue Sunday editions to interrupt the spiritual 
worship and service of the Lord's day ; they never re- 
tail jokes and jests which turn Holy Scripture into 
ridicule, or repeat anecdotes which contain profane and 
blasphemous allusions to divine things. ... So 
we are especially sorry that our program should have 
been open to the criticism of these sensitive educators of 
public taste and conscience. 

" Hereafter we shall be doubly careful of our use of 
terms and never speak of a debt as expiring. We shall 



Private Prayer Life 



181 



undertake to be as grave as the subject demands, and 
not travesty solemn realities. It shall be henceforth 
unlawful to speak of burying the hatchet or of burying 
animosities in the grave of oblivion. Suffice it that we 
have appalled the public for once, by venturing to speak 
of a dead debt, whose departure no one mourns, and 
whose remains we propose to get out of the way." 

Among those who took part in the services were 
John Wanamaker, Dr. J. K. Miller, Dr. Theodore L. 
Cuyler, Eev. John Hall, D. D., and Dr. Samuel T. 
Lowrie. The program included the tolling of the 
bell, a funeral march by the orchestra, a humorous 
funeral oration and dirge, and a cremation. The joy 
was as universal as the self-denial had been and every 
member of the church entered fully into the spirit of 
the unique program. 

It may be well here to turn aside again to study Dr. 
Pierson's own prayer life and habits. He was slender 
in body but vigorous in mind and almost reckless in 
his expenditures of physical energy. At one time he 
was ill in bed for a week and remarked to a friend who 
visited him, " No doubt the Lord had many things to 
say to me that I was too busy to hear, so He put me on 
my back that I might listen." 

His habit of excessive introspection is noticeable 
throughout his diaries and the extreme sensitiveness of 
his nature made his body subject to many more than 
necessary ills. Anxiety about himself, his family or his 
church would often rack his sympathetic nervous system 
and bring on a severe attack of fever or exhaustion. 

It was by prayer that he sought relief from the 
anxieties of his work and endeavoured to regain his 
spiritual poise and vision of God's will. He kept a 



)82 The Philadelphia Pastorate 



Prayer Record 1 in which he noted the date when each 
special request was begun, the promise pleaded, the 
petition made and the answer received. A few of these 
entries are quoted to show the range of his supplications. 

Prayer Begun Promise Pleaded Bequest Answer 

Nov. 1, 1883 Phil. iv. 6 Restoration of MS. Nov. 7, 1883 

" " " Assistant in Bethany T. C. Horton 

Jan. 29, 1884 James v. Conversion of R. B. Died in hope 

" " " Illness of Win. McC. Recovered 

" " " Harmony between W. 

and L. Adjusted 

Feb. 15, 1884 Revival in Princeton Answered 

Mar., 1884 Removal of Debt Feb., 1888 

May 1, 1884 Home for Summer use May 7, 1884 

Feb. 6, 1885 Matt. vi. Banishment of Anxiety 1888 

May, 1886 New Power in Pulpit 1888-9 

Mar., 1889 Ps. cxlv. 18, 19 Personal Holiness 

The man himself is best disclosed in these private 
diaries. His strong individuality had many failings 
which he himself recognized but which he was slow to 
acknowledge to others. One who knew him well for 
many years remarked : " He was humble before God 
but not always before man." 

A single prayer recorded in his devotional diary will 
reveal the spirit of the man's supplications for himself. 
There are other prayers for his family, his friends, his 
church and the world. 

" O God, my Father, help me to be wholly Thine. 

My temper consecrated so that my whole disposition 

may accord with Thy will and reflect Thy love ; my 

tongue consecrated that a double watch may be kept 

especially from saying what is not perfectly accordant 

with truth, purity and charity. My pen consecrated 

that every line I write may bring glory to Thee. Es- 

1 This plan was so helpful to him that he later published a little 
record book with lined spaces and with appropriate Bible verses en- 
couraging to prayer. 



A Daily Program 183 



pecially help me to promote the coming of Thy king- 
dom — to set myself apart to the great work of a world's 
evangelization — to save money on self that it may be 
spent on Thee and Thy cause ; to sacrifice superfluities 
and luxuries to supply the poor with the necessaries of 
life and the heathen with the bread of life ; to live simply 
and inexpensively that we may give abundantly. 

" Teach me to pray believingly and prevailingly to 
know that Thou art mine and I am Thine. . . . 
Let the products of my entire thinking be laid at Thy 
feet and help me to be unconsciously humble lest I be 
betrayed into the worst of all forms of pride — the pride 
of humility. Particularly help me not to seek great 
things for myself but all for Thee." 

He devoted an hour to devotional Bible study before 
breakfast. After family worship he spent an hour 
(8 : 30 to 9 : 30) with his letters and answered all his cor- 
respondence by hand. He never could accustom him- 
self to a stenographer either for personal letters or 
literary work. The remainder of the morning he spent 
in creative work or study for sermons, lectures, books 
or articles for the press. After luncheon he usually 
took an hour (2 to 3 p. m.) for reading books and 
papers and covered an immense territory in almost 
every branch of literature. Popular books were re- 
served for evenings with his family. 

The hours from 3 : 00 to 5 : 30 in the afternoon were 
occupied with pastoral or friendly calls, with shopping 
or outside speaking engagements, or with recreation 
when possible. The evenings were usually filled with 
committees, addresses and other church or outside 
work, but at least one or two evenings a week were 
reserved for his family. 



184 The Philadelphia Pastorate 



One habit formed in Philadelphia was ever after- 
wards a source of strength. Before retiring he was 
accustomed to sit in a chair for half an hour reviewing 
the day, its failures, opportunities and victories, that 
he might gain, if possible, God's view-point. Then he 
would spend a brief season in audible prayer, presenting 
definite petitions for himself, his family, his parishioners 
and the world-wide work that had been laid on his heart. 
When engagements permitted he retired early — not later 
than ten o'clock — that he might have at least eight hours 
sleep and be ready for a new day's toils and battles. 

Many have remarked on Dr. Pierson's fluency and 
power in public and in private prayer. They have 
coveted the same gift but knew not the rough and 
thorny path that led to victory. We find in his private 
diary some intimations of the school of prayer in which 
he was trained. There was a careful studv of the 
prayers of the Bible, and the words of praise, of adora- 
tion, of petition were written out and memorized so 
that they became a part of the very fibre of his being. 
In his church and family prayer-records the definite 
needs, difficulties and temptations of individuals are 
named and portions of their history are given to present 
before the Throne. The whole world was included in the 
scope of these prayers which show an intimate knowl- 
edge of the progress and problems of the Kingdom. 

This private prayer life, of which the world knew 
nothing, was the secret of the man's victories over him- 
self, his influence over men and his power with God. 
Like J acob he met Jehovah alone in the early hours of 
the day and learned how to prevail. This was of 
especial importance in view of the new and larger field 
of service that was about to open before him. 



XI 



CONFEEENCE AND MISSIONABY WOEK — A 
WOBLD-WIDE CAMPAIGN 

WHILE Dr. Pierson was devoting his energies 
to the training of his people at Bethany and 
in his own prayer life was seeking earnestly 
for new power and new victories, he himself was being 
trained, in unseen ways, for a new campaign. His 
preaching, writings, and Bible lectures had caused his 
name to become widely known in America and he 
received many invitations to address colleges, conven- 
tions and conferences. While pastor at Detroit and 
Indianapolis his work had been local, now it was 
national and was soon to become international. The 
era of missionary and Bible study conferences was 
dawning all over America, and Dr. Pierson was recog- 
nized as a man peculiarly well fitted for inspiring and 
teaching such gatherings by reason of his exhaustive - 
study, his wide reading, his retentive memory and his 
fluent, fiery utterance. 

For several years he addressed the Prophetical Bible 
Conference, conducted by his college friends, Drs. 
William and Albert Erdman, at E"iagara-on-the-Lake, 
Ontario. Here he came into close fellowship with such 
Bible students and teachers as Drs. James H. Brookes 
of St. Louis, Nathaniel West, William G. Moorehead of 
Xenia, Ohio, and H. M. Parsons of Toronto. 

These were the days of warm and even bitter dis- 
cussion relative to "The Lord's Second Coming. " 

185 



186 Conference and Missionary Work 

Pre-millennialists and post-millennialists could scarcely 
come together for prophetical Bible study without 
sharp controversy on the subject. Since Dr. Pierson's 
views had undergone a change, through his interviews 
with George Mtiller and his later Bible studies, he held 
the decided and unyielding conviction that Christians 
must be ready and looking for the return of the Lord 
at any moment. He was not prepared, nor did he think 
it right to prophesy as to dates " since," he said, " the 
only date given for the Lord's return is ' In such an 
hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh.' " He 
believed that the world was to be " evangelized " but 
not necessarily converted before the Lord should come. 

His understanding of the teaching of Old Testament 
prophets and of Christ and His apostles left no possi- 
bility of the interposition of a millennium of peace and 
righteousness before the Second Coming. He was 
attacked for this belief, and some even maintained that 
it was incompatible with the evangelistic spirit, 
injurious to missionary enterprise and deadening to 
Christian life. His addresses on the subject made a 
deep impression on many who heard them and some- 
times converted even his opponents. Dr. W. Gr. Moore- 
head writes : " Some of us will never forget his 
addresses on 4 The Lord's Second Coming as a Motive 
to World-wide Evangelism ' and 6 The Comings of our 
Lord as the Doctrinal and Practical Centre of the 
Bible. 5 He spoke without notes and used the black- 
board to illustrate the chief points. He pictured to 
the eye the three great dispensations : The Altar of 
Sacrifice to represent the Mosaic Age, The Lord's Table 
to indicate the Christian or Grospel Age, and the Throne 
and Crown to represent the Millennial Reign." 



A Message at Niagara-on-the-Lake 187 

Dr. Pierson's positive convictions at this time made 
him a sharp antagonist but in his later years he came 
to hold a less militant attitude towards Christians who 
differed from him on non-essentials. This change is 
shown in a letter written a few years ago, in which he 
says : 

"I habitually avoid controversy, except on major 
points. . . . After all it is the heart that makes 
the theology. Let us maintain our witness but not 
fight too fiercely about minor issues in a day of such 
awful heresies." 

At these conferences he came into contact with 
Christian teachers and leaders from all over the world 
and through his addresses and words of counsel 
influenced the lives of men and women of all ages. 
Scores were sent to the mission fields ; many hundreds 
were led into deeper spiritual experience and more con- 
secrated spiritual life ; and thousands gained new 
confidence in the Bible and clearer understanding of its 
mysteries. 

It was at the Magara conference that Henry W. 
Frost heard in one of Dr. Pierson's addresses the call 
of God to consecrate his life to foreign missions. Mr. 
Frost, now for many years the American Home Di- 
rector of the China Inland Mission, writes : 

" What I owe to Dr. Pierson in the dedication of my 
life to God and in obtaining inspiration for missionary 
service, seems to call for more than a formal letter. It 
was he, by an address at Niagara in 1886, who con- 
firmed me in the determination to give myself to God 
for service in behalf of foreign missions. Although I 
had been brought up in a Christian family, and had 
attended many churches, I had never heard a strong 



188 Conference and Missionary Work 



address on the subject of foreign missions. In 1885 I 
heard two addresses at Magara-on-the-Lake, one by 
William E. Blackstone and the other by Mr. Goforth, 
on this theme. The charts they exhibited and the facts 
they gave were a revelation to me. I determined to 
give myself to alleviating the woes of these perishing 
millions. But before many weeks had passed other 
interests returned and I forgot the peoples who were 
far away. I came again to the conference in 1886, 
seeking Bible teaching. When it was announced that 
Dr. Arthur T. Pierson was to speak on foreign mis- 
sions I was tempted to stay away, but finally com- 
promised, deciding to sit outside the pavilipn and 
so avoid being unduly affected. I did so, but, hap- 
pily for me, could not hear well and finally moved 
inside. Soon I became absorbed in the speaker and 
his message as he spoke with soul aflame with compas- 
sion for the neglected millions. Under this influence a 
great soul transaction went on within me and I felt 
that the One who commanded me to go was waiting 
for my answer. By God's grace I gave myself to mis- 
sionary work." 

All through his life some of the richest and most 
abiding fruits of Dr. Pierson's ministry came from the 
words, winged with prayer, and directed by the Holy 
Spirit, that found lodgment in men's hearts and trans- 
formed their convictions and their destinies. It was an 
address at New Brunswick, K J., in 1888, that first gave 
Samuel M. Zwemer, of Arabia, a sense of the urgency 
of the missionary task and a conviction that only un- 
belief and selfishness hindered its accomplishment. 

On the day of Prayer for Colleges, in 1886, Dr. 
Pierson was asked by President James McCosh, of 
Princeton, to preach in the College Chapel. In the 
after-meeting a young man arose, in answer to an ap- 



A Princeton Student 



peal, and dedicated his life and his energies to Christ. 
Twenty-five years later, on the occasion of the preach- 
er's golden wedding anniversary, that young man 
wrote : 

" My dear Dr. Pierson : 

" There are many throughout the world who are 
under spiritual obligation to you but there are few who 
can feel towards you the same grateful and filial love 
which I feel. Although I grew up in a Christian home 
and was not unidentified with Christian work in school 
and college it was in my freshman year at Princeton, on 
the day of prayer for schools and colleges, after your ser- 
mon in the afternoon and at the after-meeting which you 
conducted in the evening, that I first publicly acknowl- 
edged Christ and resolved to join myself openly to His 
Church. During all the years since, I have owed much 
to your unfailing interest, encouragement and confi- 
dence. For all this I thank you and thank God. 

" Ever affectionately yours, 

" Robert E. Speer." 

In the year 1891, when Mr. Speer was still a student 
in the theological seminary preparing for his mission- 
ary career, Dr. Pierson suggested his appointment to 
the position of Secretary of the Presbyterian Board of 
Foreign Missions — a position which he has since filled 
with such manifold blessing to the cause of missions 
throughout the world. 

In like manner the souls of many other less promi- 
nent men were set on fire and their energies were 
directed into Christian work by contact with Dr. Pier- 
son. One missionary father of world-wide fame wrote 
from India, in 1884 : 

" With all the earnestness of my soul I write to thank 



190 Conference and Missionary Work 

you for your kindness to my son, who in a time of 
great spiritual darkness appealed to you for advice. 
Poor boy, he had been through a terrible spiritual con- 
flict but, largely through your most excellent advice, 
he has emerged from the intense darkness into light. 
. . . He feels much drawn to you and looks upon 
your counsel almost as a message from above." 

This young man afterwards became a missionary and 
has led hundreds into the kingdom of God. 

Another fellow minister's life was brought into line 
for missionary service by a remark passed on a short 
railway journey. In the course of the conversation 
Dr. Pierson said to his seat-mate: "My brother, re- 
member that your parish is not your field. The 4 field 
is the world.' Your parish contains a force committed 
to you by God to train for Him, that through them He 
may reach the world field." That remark turned 
Dr. D. M. Stearns into a missionary and Bible teacher 
who for over twenty years has conducted weekly 
Bible classes in many cities. Another indirect result 
has been the turning of a stream of $650,000 into mis- 
sionary channels — the gifts sent through Dr. Stearns' 
church and Bible classes. 

"Up to that time," says Dr. Stearns, "I had sup- 
posed that my parish was my field, and that to win 
souls there, and to feed them with living bread pub- 
licly, and from house-to-house in pastoral work, was 
about all that was expected of me ; but this quiet mes- 
sage was a word in season, which has borne much 
fruit, in which we will rejoice together in the king- 
dom." 

During the years of his busy Philadelphia pastorate 
Dr. Pierson also became linked with Northfield and 



First Visit to Northfield 191 

the Bible conferences inaugurated by D. L. Moody. 
This union continued to the end of his life and led to 
the formation of some of his most delightful fellowships 
with such men as Dr. A. J. Gordon and Joseph Cook of 
Boston, Marcus Kainsford, F. B. Meyer, Campbell Mor- 
gan and George H. C. MacGregor of Great Britain, 
and others. 

Northfield is a spot blessed with great natural beauty. 
The green slopes of the rolling hills are covered with 
woods and farm lands. The winding waters of the 
Connecticut add beauty and freshness to the valley 
that is noted for the picturesque villages and the 
schools of learning along its banks. In 1885 the town 
had already become famous as the home of D. L. 
Moody and as the centre of his educational work for 
young men and young women. It has since become a 
New England Jerusalem to which students go up for 
preparatory education in autumn, winter and spring, 
and where Christian workers gather for Bible study 
in the summer. Dr. Pierson wrote of his first experi- 
ence at a Northfield Conference in 1885 : 

"The power of God pervaded the assembly from 
first to last. At times His presence seemed almost vis- 
ible. Mr. Moody rang out the motto : ' My soul wait 
thou only upon God for my expectation is from Him,' 
and from that moment all eyes seemed turned upward 
in expectation. Think of it ! no program — yet hun- 
dreds of believers hanging with deep interest on the lips 
of speakers. The leader simply looked to God from 
day to day for guidance and called on such speakers as 
he felt led to select. At the close Mr. Moody said to 
me : i I have attended hundreds of conventions but 
never one like this for power.' The Spirit's presence 



192 Conference and Missionary Work 

was felt in prayer, in song, in speaking, in hearing ; 
not a break nor a blunder nor an inharmonious note 
nor an infelicitous speech." 

Here Dr. Pierson learned new lessons in the Spirit's 
guidance and here began the warm affection for Dr. A. 
J. Gordon of Boston, who was for the next decade his 
intimate friend. The energetic, practical spirituality of 
Mr. Moody and the quiet, unselfish strength of a man 
like Dr. Gordon drew, with resistless power, the man 
who was himself so full of the fire of the one and who 
longed for the outward evidence as well as the in- 
ward experience of the meek and quiet spirit of the 
other. 

This conference not only exerted a deep influence on 
Dr. Pierson's life but it was destined to produce world- 
wide results in the missionary cause. The day, August 
11th, was given up to prayer for world-wide missions, 
and Dr. Pierson was asked to deliver a missionary mes- 
sage. The thousand hearers were moved by the mas- 
terly presentation of facts and the strong appeal for 
advance in God's name. 

" What is needed," he said, " is a world missionary 
conference. Let witnesses come from all parts of the 
world to tell what the Lord is doing, so that we may 
light upon the altars of our hearts new consecrated 
fires. Let the missionary societies of all the denomina- 
tions take part, and let them agree to follow principles 
of courtesy and comity, so that wherever one denomi- 
nation has a successful work, other denominations will 
not interfere, but look farther, and go into the desti- 
tute places. At this great council let it be resolved 
that there shall not be one portion of the earth without 
some responsible Christian denomination to take charge 



A World Missionary Call 



*93 



of its evangelizing. Let the missionaries multiply. 
Let them be not only educated clergymen, but let 
them be taken from every walk of life. Let them go 
through short courses of training in the history of mis- 
sions, and in the knowledge of the Word of God and 
Christian doctrine. Then let them go into those great 
fields, and continue their studies in the language of the 
heathen among whom they labour. While they are get- 
ting acquainted with the people and the language, let 
them do such work as they can in connection with the 
mission — setting type, etc., or even menial labour." 

He suggested that a call be sent out to Christian 
disciples of every name to unite in prayer for a mighty 
outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and further that in some 
great world centre, at an early date, a world confer- 
ence be called to consider the immediate evangeliza- 
tion of all peoples. 

" Let us have," he said, " an ecumenical council, rep- 
resenting all evangelical churches, solely to plan this 
world-wide campaign and proclaim the good tidings to 
every living soul in the shortest time ! Let the field 
be divided and distributed with as little waste of men 
and means as may be. Let there be a universal appeal 
for workers and money, and a systematic gathering of 
offerings that shall organize the mites into millions." 

Mr. Moody jumped to his feet and enthusiastically 
asked the assembly to express their approval of this 
plan by a rising vote. He appointed a committee of 
seven, including a Presbyterian, a Methodist, two Bap- 
tists, two Congregationalists and a Church of England 
clergyman with Dr. Pierson as chairman to draw up 
the " call." In the following form it was ratified by 
the conference and sent abroad on its mission : 



194 Conference and Missionary Work 

An Appeal to Disciples Everywheee 

" To Fellow-believers of every name, scattered through- 
out the world, Greeting : 

" Assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
with one accord, in one place, we have continued for 
ten days in prayer and supplication, communing with 
one another about the common salvation, the blessed 
hope, and the duty of witnessing to a lost world. 

" It was near to our place of meeting that, in 1747, at 
Northampton, Jonathan Edwards sent forth his trum- 
pet-peal, calling upon disciples everywhere to unite in 
prayer for an effusion of the Spirit upon the whole 
habitable globe. That summons to prayer marked a 
new epoch in the history of the Church of God. Prayer 
bands began to gather in this and in other lands; 
mighty revivals of religion followed ; immorality and 
infidelity were wonderfully checked ; and, after more 
than fifteen hundred years of apathy and lethargy, the 
spirit of missions was reawakened. In 1784, the 
monthly concert of prayer for missions was begun, and 
in 1792, the first missionary society formed in England ; 
in 1793, William Carey, the pioneer missionary, sailed 
for India. Since then, one hundred missionary boards 
have been organized, and probably not less than one 
hundred thousand missionaries have gone forth into 
the harvest-field. The Pillar has moved before these 
humble labourers, and the two-leaved gates have opened 
before them, until the whole world is now ac- 
cessible. . . . 

" God has thus, in answer to prayer, opened the door 
of access to the nations. Out of the Pillar there comes 
once more a voice : 6 Speak unto the children of 
Israel, that they go forward.' And yet the Church of 
God is slow to move in response to the providence of 
God. Nearly a thousand millions of the human race 
are yet without the Gospel ; vast districts are wholly un- 
occupied. . . . 

" Christ is waiting to 6 see of the travail of His soul ; ' 



" To Disciples Everywhere " 195 

and we are impressed that two things are just now of 
great importance ; first, the immediate occupation and 
evangelization of every destitute district of the earth's 
population ; and, secondly, a new effusion of the Spirit 
in answer to united prayer. 

" If at some great centre like London or New York, 
a council of evangelical believers could meet, to con- 
sider the wonder-working of God's providence and 
grace in mission fields, to insure fields now unoccupied 
from further neglect, and to arrange and adjust the 
work so as to prevent needless waste and friction among 
workmen, it might greatly further the glorious object 
of a world's evangelization ; and we earnestly commend 
the suggestion to the prayerful consideration of the 
various bodies of Christian believers, and the various 
missionary organizations. What a spectacle it would pre- 
sent both to angels and to men, could believers of every 
name, forgetting all things in which they differ, meet, 
by chosen representatives, to enter systematically and 
harmoniously upon the work of sending forth labourers 
into every part of the world field ! 

" But, above all else, our immediate and imperative 
need is a new spirit of earnest and prevailing prayer. 
The first Pentecost crowned ten days of united, con- 
tinued supplication. Every subsequent advance may be 
directly traced to believing prayer, and upon this must 
depend a new Pentecost. We therefore earnestly ap- 
peal to all fellow disciples to join us and each other in 
importunate daily supplication for a new and mighty 
effusion of the Holy Spirit upon all ministers, mission- 
aries, evangelists, pastors, teachers and Christian work- 
ers, and upon the whole earth ; that God would impart 
to all Christ's witnesses the tongues of fire, and melt 
hard hearts before the burning message. It is not by 
might nor by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord, that 
all true success must be secured. What we are to do for 
the salvation of the lost must be done quickly ; for the 
generation is passing away, and we with it. Obedient 
to our marching orders, let us ' go into all the world, 



196 Conference and Missionary Work 



and preach the Gospel to every creature/ while from 
our very hearts we pray, 6 Thy kingdom come.' 

" Grace, mercy and peace be with you all. 

" Done in convention at Northfield, Mass., August 
14, 1885, D. L. Moody presiding. 

Arthur T. Pierson, Philadelphia, 

Chairman* 

A. J. Gordon, Boston, 
L. W. Mtjnhall, Indianapolis, 
Committee Geo. F. Pentecost, Brooklyn, K Y., 
Wm. Ashmore, Missionary to China, 
J. E. K. Studd, London, England, 
Miss E. Dryer, Chicago, 
_D. L. Moody. 

Three years later (in 1888) this call found its answer 
in the great centenary missionary conference held in 
London, which Dr. Pierson attended as a delegate, and 
which introduced him to British Christians as a spirit- 
filled apostle of modern missions. 

This North field gathering produced other immediate 
and far-reaching results. The year following this mis- 
sionary call, the students of American colleges were 
invited to gather at Mount Hermon, in the buildings 
of Mr. Moody's school for young men, and there to 
spend a month in Bible study and conference. As a re- 
sult in July, 1886, two hundred and fifty students from 
ninety colleges came together and inaugurated the first 
World Christian Student Conference. The mornings 
were occupied with Bible addresses and talks on Chris- 
tian work and the afternoons and evenings were de- 
voted to recreation. It was a wholesome summer va- 
cation. The young men were inspired with a new 
conception of what the Bible was, they saw new visions 
of the whitening world fields and they were prepared 



College Students at Mount Hermon 197 



for aggressive, efficient work among their college 
mates. 

Strong speakers were in attendance but Mr. Moody 
telegraphed to Dr. Pierson in Philadelphia : " I want 
you at Mount Hermon. Can you come?" He had 
made arrangements for a western trip, but on the 
very morning of the telegram's arrival, he received 
word which caused a change in his plans and all his 
engagements were cancelled. God had decided the 
matter and the dispatch went back to Mount Hermon, 
"God helping me, I will come." 

He went North with his family and delivered at the 
conference a series of addresses on " The Bible and 
Prophecy "—but this was not the particular message 
for which God had called him there. There were 
other plans not in the program. One day, a Princeton 
student, Kobert P. Wilder, came to him and said : 

" Dr. Pierson, there are ten or twelve of us who have 
decided to devote our lives to God as foreign mission- 
aries. We have been meeting every day to pray that 
others may see the vision and we want you to give us 
a missionary address." 

The regular sessions of the conference were already 
provided for so that arrangements were made for an 
extra evening session. The room was crowded, and 
Dr. Pierson spoke for an hour on "God's Providence in; 
Modern Missions." There was no large missionary map 
available but the speaker drew a rough outline of the 
countries of the world on the blackboard and with this 
he illustrated the divine strategy in modern missions. 
He voiced the Macedonian call to young men of the 
Church to give their lives for " the evangelization of the 
world in this generation." The impression was pro- 



198 Conference and Missionary Work 

found and immediately after the address the students 
held a consecration meeting. One who was present 
says : " The sense of the Spirit's presence was so vivid 
as to be almost visible. Before that week ended the 
number of volunteers had doubled. Other addresses 
and conferences followed ; the tide of interest rose 
higher, and before the conference closed one hundred 
young men had signified their intention, God permitting, 
to become foreign missionaries. A meeting of nations 
was called and ten young men representing China, 
Japan, Siam, India, Denmark, Norway, Germany, 
Turkey, and the North American Indians voiced their 
nation's needs in five-minute addresses. It was like a 
new Pentecost in which the order was reversed and 
American students heard men of other nations speaking 
in their own tongue of the wonderful works of God." 

Thus was born the Student Volunteer Movement for 
Foreign Missions, with the inspiring battle-cry, " The 
evangelization of the world in this generation," which 
was sounded the next year by Kobert P. Wilder and 
John N. Forman of Princeton in colleges all over the 
land. 

In the summer of 1911 the twenty-fifth anniversary 
of this Movement was held at Mount Hermon and it 
was reported that the crusade had spread to Europe 
and South Africa and that from America alone five 
thousand Student Yolunteers had sailed for foreign 
fields under the direction of their denominational 
boards and societies. 

Many of the present leaders of the World Student 
Christian Federation attended this first conference 
and felt the impress of Dr. Pierson's missionary 
messages. Among those who volunteered were John 



First Student Volunteer Movement 199 

K. Mott, now chairman of the Continuation Committee 
of the World Missionary Conference ; Eobert P. Wilder, 
missionary to India and Student Volunteer Secretary 
in Great Britain ; George L. Eobinson, for three years 
teacher in the Syrian Protestant College, Beirut, and 
now professor in McCormick Theological Seminary ; 
Boon Itt, who returned to Siam to become a Christian 
leader to his own people ; Eobert M. Labaree, missionary 
to Persia and his brother Benjamin Labaree, missionary 
martyr ; and Lewis B. Chamberlain, and John JST. 
Forman, missionaries to India. 

God was thrusting out His servant, more and more, 
into the field of world-wide missions. The year follow- 
ing the Mount Hermon Conference, Dr. Pierson was 
importuned to undertake the editorship of the Mission- 
ary Review. This magazine had been founded in 1878 
by Eev. Eoyal G. Wilder, a returned missionary from 
India, as an independent review to advocate world-wide 
evangelization. The hands of the pastor of Bethany 
Church were more than full and opportunities, yes im- 
portunities, to deliver addresses all over the land were 
increasing, but he could not turn a deaf ear to what 
seemed to him a call of God. He had been well 
trained for the position of editor by his careful mastery 
of facts, his literary culture and his wide and growing 
reputation as a missionary advocate. His book, the 
" Crisis of Missions," which set forth in a convincing 
manner the providential openings in the mission fields, 
had had a wide circulation and exerted an immense 
influence on the Church. Eev. Donald MacGillivray, 
now of Shanghai, gives one testimony that might be 
multiplied many fold, when he says : 

" It was Dr. Pierson's ' Crisis of Missions ' that so 



2oo Conference and Missionary Work 

tremendously stirred up Jonathan Goforth and myself 
before we ever came to China. So inspiring did we 
find the book that we gave away hundreds of copies in 
Canada and I think that book chiefly responsible for 
the great revival of missionary interest which took 
place about that time." 

On the very day on which Dr. Pierson signed the 
agreement to undertake the joint editorship with Dr. 
James M. Sherwood of New York, Mr. Wilder passed 
away. In the leading editorial a year later (January, 
1889) Dr. Pierson wrote : 

" We undertook the work because we heard a loud 
call of God and saw a great need of man. Now it has 
been clearly demonstrated that just such a review of 
universal missions is an imperative need of our day ; 
and that in seeking to supply this need we were simply 
falling into our place in a divine plan. . . . 

" No greater need exists than that of the universal 
diffusion of information as to the facts of past and 
present missionary history. To know those facts, to 
be informed and to keep informed and fully informed, 
as to the march of God and His hosts in all the earth, 
is, in effect, to quicken the pulse of the whole Church of 
Christ. In missions, Love is the skillful alchemist that 
turns knowledge into zeal and out of intelligence distils 
inspiration. If we would have more prayer we must 
know what to pray about ; if we want more money 
we must know what open doors God is placing before 
us for the investment of consecrated capital, and what 
wondrous results He has wrought and is working with 
the merchant's millions, and the widow's mites ; if we 
want more men and women as workers, the mind and 
heart and conscience of disciples must be awakened from 
sleep and aroused from sluggishness, by the electric 
touch of thrilling facts. If we want more zeal, all true 
zeal is ' according to knowledge ' and consequent upon 



Editor of the " Missionary Review " 201 



it. If we want the spirit of holy enterprise, doing and 
daring for God, missions must be exhibited as the enter- 
prise of the Church, and it must be shown that no 
equal or proportionate investment of men, means and 
money ever brought returns so ample — all of which the 
logic of events stands ready to prove by the most over- 
whelming of arguments." 

Under his editorship the Missionary Review of the 
World set a new standard for missionary periodicals. 
In those days missionary literature was considered dry 
reading and appealed only to those of large vision and 
deep consecration. Dr. Pierson's presentation was 
picturesque and popular. The artistic sense which he 
had developed in drawing and painting, with crayon 
and brush, he now used to portray with vivid, realistic 
touches the great scenes and heroes of missionary 
history. He was gifted with the journalistic sense that 
enabled him to discover obscure characters and little 
known events and to bring them to public notice. It 
was he who brought into wide publicity such impress- 
ive stories as those of Moravian missions, Thomas 
Barnardo's work for London orphans, the China Inland 
Mission victories of faith, the remarkable achievements 
of Pastor Harms, the Deep Sea Fishing Mission of Dr. 
"Wilfred Grenfell, the romantic stories of Pandita 
Ramabai, of William A. B. Johnson of Sierra Leone, 
of William Duncan of Metlakahtla and many others. 1 
At the same time he emphasized the Biblical and 
spiritual basis of missions, the need of generous and 
sanctified giving and suggested the best methods for 
awakening the Church to accept her responsibility. 

1 Many of these stories were collected in his four volumes, entitled 
" Miracles of Missions." 



202 Conference and Missionary Work 



The Review also was the first missionary magazine to pre- 
sent a view of the world field and to give an account of the 
work of all denominations. Thus it became an invaluable 
help to pastors and to missionaries and referred them to 
original sources from which they could further satisfy 
their newly awakened appetite for missionary facts. 

The history of the Review has thoroughly justified 
the principles of the editor in its management. In its 
pages Dr. Pierson advocated and defended many a new 
or unpopular cause. Years before missionary exposi- 
tions had been started he urgently called for some one 
to establish such an ocular demonstration as an un- 
answerable argument against the assertions of ignorant 
critics that there were no adequate results from mis- 
sionary expenditures. He advocated the "living 
links" between the individual church and the field 
before any such plan had been adopted by missionary 
societies. He pleaded for cooperation and union on the 
part of different denominations and presented a view 
of the world field without distinction between city, 
home and foreign missions. 

Dr. Pierson's power and authority as writer and 
speaker in the cause of foreign missions were widely 
recognized. One admirer remarked that he was " as 
much a working force in missions as gravity is in the 
domain of physics " and that he " occupied a field as 
naturally his own as if he had secured an absolute title 
deed from the government." 

The next step forward was his departure for London 
as a delegate to the great World Missionary Conference 
in 1888. This was, in large measure, the culmination 
of his planning and his prayers. He wrote in his 
devotional diary in 1887: "My thought and prayer 



A Delegate to London 



203 



of years have been centering upon the world-wide work 
of missions and the need for a world council to map 
out the field and to plan to occupy every part of it. 
It was laid on my heart in Detroit, and I voiced it 
there. Again at Northfield, it met with cordial 
response. This council is now called to meet in London 
next June and I am asked to go." 

On Saturday, May 26, 1888, Dr. and Mrs. Pierson set 
sail from New York on the 6,000-ton steamship TJm- 
bria, then one of the largest afloat. This was to be a 
momentous journey. Dr. Josiah Strong, author of 
"Our Country" and Dr. Young J. Allan, of China, 
were fellow passengers, and with them he arranged a 
series of missionary services on board. This eagerness 
to advance the cause of Christ marked the whole jour- 
ney, for, like all his other holidays, it was a tour of 
service, not a furlough from work. 

The first representative World Missionary Confer- 
ence, which opened in Exeter Hall, London, on Saturday 
afternoon, June ninth, was in some respects unique in 
the history of the Church. When before had Chris- 
tians met, without regard to geographical or denomina- 
tional lines, to represent a united Christendom seeking 
to plan a world campaign ? There had been other mis- 
sionary conferences of an informal nature in America 
and Great Britain but none to which practically all the 
Protestant Foreign Missionary Societies of the world 
had sent delegates. The conference of 1860 in Liver- 
pool and of 1878 in London had been comparatively 
small. The centenary conference of 1888 on the other 
hand brought together sixteen hundred men and 
women — leaders in the world-wide missionary cam- 
paign. It was an object lesson to the world. 



204 Conference and Missionary Work 



The crowds that sought admittance surprised even 
the committee and many of the well-planned arrange- 
ments needed to be readjusted. The program presented 
a general survey of the world field and a careful con- 
sideration of the efficacy of the various methods of work. 
Lord Aberdeen presided as chairman and among the 
distinguished delegates and speakers we find the names 
of Dr. Eobert UST. Oust, Dean Vahl of Denmark, Henry 
Drummond, Dr. Kalopothakes of Greece, Lord Kinnaird, 
Dr. Alexander McLaren, Sir Monier-Williams, Bishop 
Crowther of Africa, Cav. Matteo Prochet of Italy, 
Dr. George Smith of Scotland, Eugene Stock, J. Hudson 
Taylor, Dr. F. F. Ellinwood of New York, Dr. George 
E. Post of Syria, Cornelius Yanderbilt, Mrs. Isabella 
Bird Bishop, and Dr. Gustav Warneck of Germany. 

In spite of the presence of men recognized as leaders 
in Church and state the secular press was inclined to cast 
stones at the enterprise and so well-informed a journal as 
the London Times said in its issue of June 15, 1888 : 

" Before the promoters of missionary work can ex- 
pect to have greater resources confided to them, they 
will have to render a satisfactory account of their trust 
in the past. Their progress, it is to be hoped, is sure ; 
indisputably it is slow. A congress like the present 
would be better employed in tracing the reasons for 
the deficiency in quantity of success than in glorifying 
the modicum that has been attained. . . . The 
cause of missions marches at a pace which appears 
little more than funereal." 

In one of his addresses before the conference, Dr. 
Pierson set himself to answer this challenge by showing 
some of the "Triumphs of Modern Missions." The 
facts which he gave, and his masterly method of mar- 



A Challenge Accepted 205 



shalling them, carried conviction and from that hour 
his fame as a missionary advocate was established in 
Great Britain. Among other things he said : 

" It behooves not Christian nations, which owe all 
their civilization to Christianity, brought to them by 
missionaries, to depreciate missions. St. Jerome says 
that when he was ' a boy living in Gaul, he beheld the 
Scots, a people of Britain, eating human flesh.' . . . 
When Julius Csesar landed at Deal, he found the Brit- 
ons a mere horde of half -naked savages. It is Chris- 
tianity that has lifted Britain to the foremost place 
among the nations of the world." 

In twenty minutes he had surveyed the world field 
in a manner which left no echo of a " funeral march." 

This World Conference came in the fullness of time. 
Thirty years before, many lands were closed to mission- 
aries and men were praying for open doors. Now 
practically all countries of the world were open to 
messengers of the Gospel and the work of men, women 
and young people had been organized to enter the 
world field. The great need of the hour was a closer 
cooperation and a spirit of comity between the mission- 
ary workers of different denominations. Dr. Pierson 
urged with all his power that some steps be taken towards 
such unity of effort, but this convention did not accom- 
plish all for which he hoped and prayed. He said : 

" In the presence of the gigantic foe that unites all 
its forces against the kingdom of Christ it behooves 
all disciples to stand shoulder to shoulder. . . . 
We would better stop throwing up defenses and carry 
the war into the enemy's camp by a united aggressive 
policy. The voice of God to-day commands active co- 
operation from all disciples in mission work." 



2o6 



Conference and Missionary Work 



But the Church had not yet fully awakened and the 
various divisions of the missionary army were not ready 
for union or even for comity. With the foresight of a 
true seer Dr. Pierson advocated other aggressive steps, 
many of which have since been taken. 

"I am fully persuaded," he said, " that the hope of 
permanent adjustment of missionary comity is by a 
missionary committee. The blessed contact here ex- 
perienced with such overflowing charity should not be 
broken and lost. . . . What if a committee were 
appointed consisting of such representative men as Sir 
John Kennaway, Eugene Stock, Wardlaw Thompson, 
A. C. Thompson, F. F. Ellinwood, A. J. Gordon, 
Hudson Taylor, William M. Taylor, Bishop Wilson 
and Bishop ISTinde, which could be organized into an 
interdenominational committee not for legislation but 
for counsel. . . . 

" Such a committee might be of service (1) in keeping 
up a living fellowship between denominations ; (2) in 
adjusting matters of difficulty and promoting true 
comity ; (3) in providing for the proper division of 
fields and forces." Although there was a strong feel- 
ing in favour of such action, to Dr. Pierson's great dis- 
appointment the rules of the conference did not seem 
to permit even the passing of a resolution in favour of 
such a committee. 

He lived to see his desire an accomplished fact, but 
it required twenty-two years more of education before 
this was brought about. At the Edinburgh Missionary 
Conference in 1910 a permanent " Continuation Com- 
mittee " was appointed to represent all the denominations 
in matters of common interest to the kingdom of God. 

The London conference was nevertheless a notable 



The Next Step 



207 



success. The last day was devoted to an all day prayer- 
meeting. A spirit of harmony had prevailed through- 
out that might not have been possible at that time had 
they attempted to pass any radical resolutions. The 
greatest benefits of the gathering were perhaps that it 
prepared the way for closer fellowship among those of 
different denominations, it gave men a broader vision 
of the field and a clearer conception of the magni- 
tude of their task and of the power of the Gospel. 
Above all it emphasized anew the need for prayer 
and dependence on the guidance of the Spirit of God. 

Later in the summer Dr. Pierson went into Scotland 
with Dr. A. J. Gordon, of Boston, to plead the cause 
of foreign missions in the land of martyrs and mission- 
aries. The success of this tour was so marked that he 
was invited to return the next year, and to conduct 
a wider campaign. 

He had felt that God was loosing his moorings from 
Bethany Church and he had offered his resignation to 
the officers on his departure as a delegate to the mis- 
sionary conference, but at the earnest solicitation of the 
church he had withdrawn it. Now, however, this 
call to Scotland seemed to be the voice of God and 
after much prayerful consideration he wrote his final 
letter of resignation. 

" I feel myself called to a somewhat peculiar work in 
behalf of world-wide missions. If I accept a call to 
any other pastorate it will be to a smaller church 
where the labour would be compatible with what more 
and more impresses me as my peculiar mission — to ad- 
vance the speedy evangelization of the world. At pres- 
ent I have no definite plans save to hold myself open to 
divine leading and to go where God shows me the way." 



2o8 Conference and Missionary Work 



The six years at Bethany had been happy and fruit- 
ful. The work was well organized and aggressive ; the 
mission was prospering, the Sunday-school was in its 
usual flourishing condition, missionaries had been sent 
out and over six hundred members had been received 
into the church. John Wanamaker and other officers 
and the people were loath to have their pastor go, and 
proposed to give him an extended leave of absence or 
to appoint him their pastor-at-large with a missionary 
commission, but he replied : 

" Let me go, sent in your name as Paul went from 
Antioch on his missionary journey, but let not my dear 
people feel they must assume any pecuniary burden 
which may cripple their benevolent work in other direc- 
tions." 

This step marked another crisis in Dr. Pierson's life. 
He was conscious of God's call to a wider ministry bat 
he had no human promise of support for himself and 
his family. A wife, six growing children and an aged 
mother were dependent on him. His eldest daughter, 
Helen, had recently gone to Japan as the wife of a mis- 
sionary, Rev. Frederick S. Curtis. Two sons and two 
daughters were still in school, the other two daughters 
were at home. Friends offered to guarantee a definite 
income if he would remain nominally connected with the 
church, but this did not seem wise. 

For the third time in his life he set out, not know- 
ing from whence his support would come, but he had 
confidence in the fact that his Father knew what 
things he needed, and that he could depend on Him 
for his daily supply. He was not without temptations 
to accept positions which offered earthly comforts and 
called for a less heroic exercise of faith in God. On 



A Venture of Faith 



one such occasion when he had found his financial re- 
sponsibilities heavy he recorded in his dairy : 

" I was approached to consider a call to the 

church but I felt moved to discourage it. The tempta- 
tion was the greatest I remember to have undergone. 
Here are riches, a soft nest, a kind people, a life tenure 
and provision for disablement or for widowhood of 
wife. But over against this is my long testimony 
against large salaries, wealth and worldliness in 
churches and the conviction that this ease would be 
purchased at the cost of my wider work for missions. 
I feel called to self-denial for Christ. ... I purpose 
to separate all considerations of money, so far as is 
possible, from the interests of the kingdom of God. 
I record my confidence that all needful good will be 
added to us according to God's promise. I do not 
desire a large income, as it is too often a hindrance to 
spirituality and endangers family life by many snares. 
While I have been living without stated salary I have 
never lacked any good thing and I believe I never 
shall." 

At this time Dr. Pierson was over fifty -two years 
of age, a period when many men have laid aside some- 
thing for old age and begin to think of retiring from 
active service. The next twenty years were the most 
widely useful of his life and though he never again un- 
dertook a regular pastoral charge and had no invested 
means of support, it was his frequent testimony that 
the needs of himself and his family were never before 
so fully supplied nor was he himself ever so free 
from anxiety nor was he ever able to give away so 
much money as after he took this step in faith. God 
was indeed a bountiful provider. 



XII 



SCOTLAND AND THE CONTINENT— MIS- 
SIONAEY CBUSADES 

THE visit to the Centenary Missionary Confer- 
ence in London in June, 1888, was an event 
that changed the whole course of Dr. Pier- 
son's life. He planned only to attend the conference, 
present some letters of introduction to prominent men 
and then to spend a month or two in rest and travel 
on the Continent ; but furlough time for him had not 
yet come. On sailing for England he entered in his 
diary, — " Wife and I especially asked of God to-day 
that this might not be a mere pleasure trip, but that 
rest and recreation might be combined with service — 
especially to missions." No prayer was ever more 
abundantly and literally answered. From the time he 
boarded the vessel, opportunities for testimony began 
to present themselves and before he returned four 
months later he had addressed over a hundred and 
twenty-live gatherings. 

His addresses at the missionary conference bristled 
with facts, sometimes startling, sometimes distressing, 
sometimes encouraging, but always unimpeachable. 
Fires of enthusiasm were lighted and spread over the 
Continent and the British Isles. At the close of the 
meetings in Exeter Hall he was invited to address 
Mildmay and other conferences. Then having no 
further engagements, his interest in the McAll Mis- 

210 



In the Scotch Athens 



211 



sions led him to visit Paris, in company with Dr. 
and Mrs. A. J. Gordon of Boston ; but their stay was 
brief, for a call came from Edinburgh which opened the 
way to definite service. The University students had 
not yet scattered for the summer and the Scotch dele- 
gates from the London conference longed to bring 
these young men into touch with the forceful facts 
which had gripped them. They arranged a series of 
meetings and telegraphed Dr. Pierson and Dr. Gordon 
asking if they would come over immediately and help 
Scotland. This meant the giving up of a coveted visit 
to Switzerland and Eome, but they straightway set out 
for the Scotch Athens. 

An enthusiastic reception awaited them. The initial 
meeting — a delightful garden party — brought together 
a large number of leading people of Edinburgh at St. 
Oswalds, the charming home of Mr. and Mrs. Duncan 
McLaren. Then followed meeting after meeting and 
the tide of interest rose higher and higher. The two 
Americans found a people prepared and waiting, for 
the large synod and assembly halls were crowded and 
at times hundreds were turned away. 

The Scotch people are able to relish an unlimited 
amount of religious instruction of the right flavour and 
meetings four hours in length did not overtax their 
patience. The speakers were beset with requests to 
make a missionary tour of Scotland. It was summer 
and many ministers and their people were on their 
vacations, but the signs of God's working were so clear 
that the invitation was accepted. In company with 
Kev. James Scott of South Africa and Mrs. Stott of 
the China Inland Mission, Dr. Gordon and Dr. Pierson 
visited twenty-one of the leading cities of Scotland, and 



212 



Scotland and the Continent 



everywhere their progress was like a triumphal march. 
Not only were there crowded audiences on the Sabbaths 
but even on damp cold evenings in the week large 
numbers gathered. In six weeks, Dr. Pierson's voice 
reached not less than 35,000 people. He presented the 
facts of missions with map and word pictures, and com- 
pletely captured the minds and hearts of the Scotch 
people. If he could not "strike while the iron was 
hot " he made it hot by repeated blows until the impact 
of facts and his own fire produced heat. Dr. John 
Lowe, secretary of the committee, wrote six months 
later that the results of these meetings had been 
marked by intensified interest in missions throughout 
the churches and by the enlarged giving which, he said, 
" bids fair to place the good old Kirk of Scotland in 
the forefront of the Evangelical army." The Medical 
Missionary Society, of which Dr. Lowe was secretary, 
reported a hundred per cent, increase in the number of 
candidates offering themselves for the mission field. 

This tour had been impromptu, but a committee of 
influential men, including Principal Cairns of the 
United Free Church College, Eev. John McMurtrie, 
convener of the Established Church of Scotland, Sir 
William Muir, Dr. George Smith, the missionary 
author, Dr. Alexander Whyte, pastor of Free St. 
Georges, Duncan McLaren, Esq., with John Lowe, 
drew up a letter expressing the appreciation of the 
Scotch people of the help received from Dr. Pierson's 
and Dr. Gordon's messages and asking them to return 
the next year for a six months' tour in the interest of 
missions. They also wrote letters to the Boston and 
Philadelphia churches, asking them to spare their 
pastors for a time, and lovingly to set them apart as a 



A Rough Voyage 213 



modern Paul and Barnabas for an extensive missionary 
crusade in Scotland. 

This crusade of missions called for some Peter the 
Hermit. A reform of missionary methods was like- 
wise needed under the direction of some Luther, or 
"Wesley. A reconstruction of the people's habits of 
giving might be accomplished if only some Zinzendorf 
could be found to lead the way to a higher level of 
consecrated beneficence. To Dr. Pierson this call was 
evidence that " a wide door and effectual was opened 
before him," and there were not many adversaries. 
The result was — as narrated in the previous chapter — 
that he resigned his pastorate and with his wife sailed 
once more for Great Britain in November, 1889, pre- 
ceded by the prayers of the Christians in Scotland and 
followed by those of his people in Bethany and his 
brethren in the Philadelphia Presbytery. 

The voyage was one of the roughest Dr. Pierson ever 
experienced on the Atlantic. On the fourth day out, 
the Etvuria was struck by a most violent storm and for 
four days she ploughed through a tumultuous sea, so 
that she could land neither passengers nor mail at 
Queenstown. There was need of a bit of cheer in the 
way of an entertainment in mid-ocean. A program 
was prepared and Dr. Pierson, never a steady sailor 
himself, presided and recited an original poem born of 
most recent throes of mal de mer. He began : 

" No doubt it's delightful, 
This sailing the sea ! 
Essaying to wash you 
In some heavy * roll 7 ; 
And pitching head foremost 
Straight into the bowl ! 



214 Scotland and the Continent 



Giving orders for beef tea — 
Just waked from your nap, 
And suddenly finding it 
Overturned in your lap ! " 

From the hour of landing at Liverpool, when he was 
hurried off in a cab to meet his first engagement, until 
his sailing for home seven months later there were 
countless indications that God was going before His 
servant. That year influenza first made its appearance 
in Britain and caused much illness everywhere, but in 
some cities in Scotland from four to six thousand peo- 
ple crowded in to hear the missionary message. 

As a rule two meetings a day were held in each of the 
cities visited. The leading Christian man in each place 
presided, and the largest halls were secured for the 
occasion. When he accepted the invitation to Scotland, 
Dr. Pierson made only two requests of the committee : 
first, that the usual formal addresses of welcome and 
votes of thanks should be dispensed with in order that 
all the time might be devoted to the message ; second, 
that no collections for his expenses should be taken at 
the meetings. This would embarrass the speaker and 
might keep away some who were not already thoroughly 
interested in the subject. These wise restrictions added 
greatly to the success of the campaign. 

The necessary funds were secured from the churches 
and through private subscription. Hundreds of pounds 
additional were sent in as free-will offerings for various 
forms of missionary work, and there were many evidences 
of self-sacrifice in these gifts. Jewelry and luxuries 
of other kinds found their way into the offering plate, 
and the joy of giving took such hold on some that for 
years they continued to send through the Missionary 



Missionary Addresses 



215 



Review of the World their " extra " for the Lord's work. 
A diamond ring was given with the remark : " I can do 
without it." Men gave up tobacco and other super- 
fluities and put the money into service. 

The prime object of the crusade however was not to 
raise money but to give Christian men, women and 
churches a vision of the world in the light of the Great 
Commission and to enlist their interest and cooperation 
in missionary work. This question of foreign missions 
was presented in its true place in the spiritual life of 
the Church and of the Christian. The addresses de- 
livered were on such themes as " The King's Business 
Kequireth Haste," " The World Field," " The Needs of 
the Hour," " The Fruits of Missions," " The Unity of the 
Human Family," " The Strategy of God," " The Appeal 
for Labourers," "The Power of Medical Missions," 
" The Individual Responsibility," etc. In many of the 
meetings the sense of the divine presence was almost 
overpowering. Men and women were bowed in prayer 
and sometimes in tears. No man could have produced 
such an impression ; it was manifestly of God. 

Dr. Pierson could not but be impressed with the 
energy and money that was often wasted in arousing 
churches to a sense of duty when that power might have 
been used in direct missionary work. This conviction 
he expressed forcibly when he said : 

" Themistocles, at the battle of Salamis, delayed a 
naval engagement until the land breeze blew which 
swept his vessel towards the foe, and so left every oars- 
man free to act as bowman and spearman. What new 
power would be available if the energy expended in 
propelling the vehicle of missions could he left free to do 
the loork of missions. Imagine the result if the Spirit 



216 Scotland and the Continent 



of God should sweep the Church towards the crisis of 
the engagement instead of our toiling hard to bring up 
God's people to the encounter." 

The zeal of the speaker could not but communicate 
itself to the audience. Once when he was speaking 
with great earnestness on the necessity for evangelizing 
the present generation of men, in his vehemence he 
broke the pointer which he held in his hand. After an 
apology he remarked, " I wish I could as easily break 
in pieces the apathy that prevails to-day in the Church 
of Jesus Christ." The applause that followed proved 
that the application of the accident was appreciated. 

One of the incidental benefits of the tour was the 
union of various denominations on one missionary 
platform. The differences between Established, United 
and Free Presbyterian Churches, and the conflicts of 
opinions as to work and worship were lost sight of in 
the great common purpose to advance the kingdom of 
Christ throughout the world. The hearty cooperation 
of strong men in the large cities is evidenced in the 
names of those who, in the great Scotch metropolis, 
showed their deep interest in the series of meetings in 
the interest of missions. 

The success of these meetings Dr. Pierson ascribed to 
the spirit of prayer in which they were conceived and 
conducted. In various centres of Scotland many had 
been regularly praying in secret and in small circles 
for a mighty manifestation of God's presence and 
power. Instead of looking to man for victory they 
looked to the great Commander-in-Chief and God hon- 
oured their prayer. This spirit of prayer also char- 
acterized the speaker. In the midst of his crowding 



In the Homes of Great Men 217 



engagements and busy hours of study we find such en- 
tries in his diary as the following : 

" Met Major Whittle to-day for prayer and dedicated 
myself anew to God and His work." 

"Much humbled in prayer. . . . New surren- 
der." 

"Kose at daybreak for a season of uninterrupted 
prayer." 

The results of the crusade were lasting in the Scotch 
churches. New interest in missions was awakened and 
nearly three hundred volunteers offered themselves for 
the foreign field, and missions came to have a larger 
place in the programs of pastors and their churches. 

It had long been a desire of Dr. Pierson to visit the 
birthplaces, parishes and familiar haunts of God's great 
and good men whose lives had been an inspiration to 
his missionary zeal, and this visit to Britain furnished 
him that opportunity. The grandeur and beauty of 
the Scotch Highlands and the Trossachs and the Eng- 
lish Lake region impressed him as a lover of nature, but 
he enjoyed even more his visits to the homes of David 
Livingstone, John G. Paton, William Carey, John 
Bunyan, John Howard and others. " You have," he 
said to the British people, "no excuse for not being 
heroic, for you are treading amid the very scenes that 
are consecrated by heroism on every side. I stood by 
the gateway of Dundee where George Wishart spoke 
to the plague-stricken people. I visited the hamlet 
where David Livingstone first saw the light. I entered 
the little shop in Hackleton where Carey used to cob- 
ble, and there, as if to make the picture more vivid, sat 
a man mending a boot. I said in my heart, All the 



218 



Scotland and the Continent 



organized missions of the Church of modern times were, 
in a sense, born in that shop. In Strathaven I felt the 
inspiration of that little home from which went out 
William and Gavin Martin to India, James Martin to 
Jamaica, a son to the East Indies, a daughter to the 
West Indies, and which has two more consecrated sons 
in preparation for the same work — seven missionaries 
from one home, — we might almost say from one cradle ! 
Have you felt the inspiration of it ? " 

The Scotch people crowned their acts of appreciation 
of Dr. Pierson's service by appointing him, at the close 
of his crusade, to deliver the next series of Duff lectures. 
These lectures were founded in memory of the great 
Scotch pioneer missionary, Dr. Alexander Duff, and 
covered a period of four years, three for preparation 
and one for delivery in the leading university centres 
of Scotland. Many distinguished men, like William 
Fleming Stevenson and Sir Monier-Williams had filled 
the office, and Dr. Pierson put some of his best thought 
and genius into these lectures. 1 

From Scotland Dr. Pierson went to London, where 
he addressed large assemblies and thus gained the ear 
of all England. One of these gatherings in the me- 
tropolis was convened by the missionary secretaries 
of the Congregationalists, Baptists, Presbyterians and 
Wesleyans acting together and the meetings were 
held in the Westminster (Congregational) Chapel, the 
Marylebone (Presbyterian) Church and the Down 
(Baptist) Chapel. 

At the invitation of Pastor Charles H. Spurgeon he 
preached in the Metropolitan Tabernacle. Twenty-two 

1 These lectures were published in a volume entitled "The New 
Acts of the Apostles. ' ' 



Preaching for Spurgeon 



219 



years had passed since his first visit to that church, and 
he had never lost the influence of that service, nor had 
he forgotten the message delivered by that servant of 
God. He had visited Mr. Spurgeon in his home and 
had assisted him at minor services but it was with a 
peculiar feeling of a sacred mission that Dr. Pierson 
stood beside him in his pulpit and preached to his 
people. 

" Before I went upon the pulpit platform," he said, 
" a score of devout church officers met me in the re- 
tiring-room, and for fifteen minutes there was such 
praying for me as would suffice to help any man to 
preach with Holy Ghost power. Somehow Mr. Spur- 
geon has trained his people to devout hearing • and 
whoever preaches there, if he be at all susceptible to 
the influence of an audience, feels that atmosphere en- 
circling him, and he breathes spiritual ozone that gives 
energy and vitality to his utterance." 

The letter from Spurgeon the next week was char- 
acteristic of his great heart. 

"Our people have had nothing to compare with 
your sermon. It fired the whole mass. God bless 
you and make you of more use than ever. My men 
meet in conference Tuesday at the Orphanage. Could 
you speak to them ? You could do the men great good, 
but do not be worried by my request if it is unsuitable. 
I will rejoice if you can come. I shall know if you 
cannot that it is really so. 

" What you say of special love to me I echo to your- 
self. The Lord Himself be your exceeding great re- 
ward. Pardon brevity. I have some little gout in my 
' write ' hand. 

" Yours lovingly, 

" C. H. Spurgeon." 



22o Scotland and the Continent 



A visit to the Continent in the spring of 1890 af- 
forded a long-waited-for opportunity to examine more 
carefully into the methods and work of the McAll Mis- 
sion in France and to see the conditions in Papal and 
Protestant districts of Italy. " Many a church," he 
wrote, " might well send their pastor abroad to carry 
cheer to the missionaries on the field and at the same 
time to come into personal vital contact with the mis- 
sion fields and mission workers. If all travellers would 
visit the missions they would be fired with a new en- 
thusiasm." Dr. Pierson's interest in the Mc All Mission 
had already helped to carry it over a crisis. He was 
greatly impressed with the crowds of French working 
men that eagerly thronged the Salles in Paris, with 
the earnest, self-forgetful spirit of the workers, with 
the evangelical tone of the preaching and with the 
solid character of the converts. 

An interesting scene occurred at one of these Salle 
meetings during Dr. Pierson's address. It reveals at 
once his ability to adapt his message to an audience of 
uneducated foreigners and his graphic way of present- 
ing truth. He was speaking from the fifth chapter of 
second Corinthians concerning the relation of God to 
the sinner and of the sinner's relation to God and wished 
to illustrate the word " reconciliation " so that a child 
could understand. He asked a friend to stand up with 
him on the platform and as they stood back to back 
he pointed out that this was the attitude of complete 
alienation. " But in Christ," he said, " God becomes 
reconciled to the sinner and turns about to face him 
with hands outstretched. Still it remains for the 
sinner to be reconciled to God. When the sinner 
learns of God's attitude and is ready to do his part he 



In France and Italy 



221 



turns towards God face to face (is converted), and the 
reconciliation is complete." As he gave this graphic 
illustration through an interpreter, the Frenchmen 
clapped their hands and stamped their feet and many 
of them turned to God that night. 

From Paris Dr. and Mrs. Pierson travelled to Italy 
where they visited the Waldensians in the Vaudois 
Yalley. This was the historic spot where saints were 
bound and hurled from precipices, and where others 
escaped by hiding from their implacable foes in the 
recesses of a cave. Dr. Pierson crawled into the low 
opening on his hands and knees and was thrilled with 
the thoughts of the days of persecution when streams 
ran red with the blood of martyrs. 

In Kome, Florence, Piza, Venice, Milan, and Naples 
he saw the monuments of past ages, the ruins of pagan 
and the palaces and cathedrals of papal Italy but what 
impressed him most was the need for chapels and mis- 
sions where the Gospel might be preached in truth and 
simplicity. The ignorance and open sin of the people 
was strangely contrasted in his mind with the preva- 
lence of outward forms of religious observance. 

Humorous experiences of travel were always appre- 
ciated and served to brighten what might otherwise 
have been a sombre experience to one so keenly sensi- 
tive to the spiritual darkness around him. One of the 
events that enlivened the tour occurred during his visit 
to Naples and is described in his letter home : 

"Our charming companion in European travel has 
been our beloved and intimate friend, Major D. W. 
Whittle. We left him at a restaurant near the Musee 
Bourhonico, while we went a-shopping. The Major 
happened not to know any Italian, beyond a few 



222 Scotland and the Continent 



phrases ; but it occurred to him he would take a cup 
of coffee, so he called the waiter and asked for ' cafe? 
That was successful ; it brought the rich, brown de- 
coction ; but the Major likes milk in his coffee and no 
milk was forthcoming ; so, beckoning to the waiter, he 
asked for ' milk.' But milk was not an Italian word, 
and the waiter was at a loss. The Major did not know 
the Italian word, del latte, and he was equally at a loss. 
Kemembering that Professor Gillette, after his long 
experience with the deaf mutes, declared that sign 
language would render a man intelligible in any part 
of the world, he ventured to use the language of signs. 
He made his first sign by imitating the act of pouring 
from a pitcher into his cup. The waiter smiled and 
ran to bring a brandy bottle. The Major shook his 
head and the waiter tried again ; he brought some hot 
water. This would not do. Major Whittle shook the 
end of the table cover that its whiteness might suggest 
the milk. The obliging attendant brought him a nap- 
kin. But again both were disappointed. By this time 
the other persons at the restaurant had become inter- 
ested, and the proprietor ventured to come to the rescue. 
He suggested one thing after another, bread and buns, 
etc., but without success, and all took it good-naturedly 
and laughed at the mutual discomfiture of the Italian 
servants and the American guest. 

"At last a brilliant idea struck the Major, who is 
not easily discouraged. He put up his hands to imi- 
tate horns, he motioned with them as though milk- 
ing a cow, he imitated with his voice the lowing of 
a heifer, and crowned all his attempts by a sketch 
with his pencil, on the corner of his newspaper, show- 
ing the outline of the very animal itself. Ah, yes, 



A Humorous Experience 223 



the proprietor laughed at his stupidity. He now had 
caught the evasive idea. He bowed profusely, and in- 
timating that the desired article was not at hand in the 
restaurant, despatched an errand boy to fetch it. The 
Major waited full five minutes, and then the proprie- 
tor came to conduct him to the door. Why he was 
to be led to the door was a mystery, unless he was 
expected to milk the cow. But when he came to the 
door the mystery was solved. There was a donkey all 
ready to mount. The Major's hands had been put up 
to his head, that meant ears ; then the motions he 
meant for milking were interpreted for jerking reins ; 
the lowing of the cow was thought to be the braying 
of an ass ; and, last but not least — oh, cruel sacrilege 
upon our friend's artistic sketch — his drawing had been 
mistaken for a donkey. 

" Again, amid roars of laughter, the Major declined 
the donkey, and tried his hand at another sketch. 
This time, by greater care, and by outlining the ud- 
der of the milk-giving mammal, he managed to con- 
vey to the proprietor the idea that not a donkey but a 
cow was wanted ; and with a lavish apology in Italian, 
amid the intense amusement of the spectators, a pitcher 
of milk was brought. Later when we saw the first 
sketch we all agreed that no blame could be attached 
to the proprietor for ordering that donkey." 

We can well understand with what intense interest 
Dr. and Mrs. Pierson and Major Whittle read again 
passages from the Bible as they traversed the Appian 
Way along which the Apostle Paul walked into Rome, 
and as they visited the Mamartine Prison in which he 
is said to have been confined, or gazed at the huge 
Coliseum where the early Christian martyrs were torn 



224 Scotland and the Continent 



to pieces by wild beasts. With Dr. James Gordon 
Gray, pastor of the Scotch Church in Rome, and others 
they visited the Catacombs of St. Calixtus, outside the 
walls and there held a meeting for prayer and conse- 
cration. 

The experiences and the friendships formed in Great 
Britain greatly enriched Dr. Pierson's life and were 
a preparation for a still wider ministry. After hav- 
ing held one hundred and fifty meetings in England 
and Scotland from Bristol to Aberdeen and from Lon- 
don to Glasgow there were more applications unfilled 
than had brought him across the water six months 
before. On his return home he made the following 
entry in his devotional diary : 

"The whole experience of the year since Nov. 9, 
1889, when we set sail for Liverpool, has been one of 
God's unfailing goodness and mercy. No want unsup- 
plied — not a day of sickness or suffering or special 
weariness, gracious provision for daily wants. . . . 
Never felt the need of believing and prevailing prayer 
as now. Only constant fellowship with God can suffice 
to make us victors over present perils, temptations and 
trials. ... I especially ask God for personal vic- 
- tory over besetting sins, whatever they may be — im- 
patience, uncharitableness, to which I am very prone. 
' Watch and Pray.' " 

Plans were laid for a visitation of churches in 
America, under the auspices of the Presbyterian Board 
of Foreign Missions, similar to the crusade in Scotland, 
but there were no special funds available for the sup- 
port of such a work. After a few months devoted 
mostly to local con ventions, Dr. Pierson withdrew from 



Calls to Other Churches 



225 



this campaign as he was unwilling to accept for the 
supply of his own commissary department money con- 
tributed for foreign missionary work. In response to 
a request to deliver the Graves Missionary lectures at 
New Brunswick before the Rutgers Theological Semi- 
nary, he gave the series entitled " The Divine Enter- 
prise of Missions." 

The death of his colleague, Dr. James M. Sherwood, 
in October, 1890, cast the entire responsibility of the 
Missionary Review upon Dr. Pierson, and this extra 
work together with writing and preaching rounded out 
another busy year of life for him. Several calls came to 
vacant churches on both sides of the water, but he 
was conscious of a more urgent summons to serve 
the church at large in the stirring up of missionary in- 
terest. In the midst of this work, however, he was be- 
ing prepared for another line of ministry in behalf of 
deeper Bible study and higher spiritual life — but that 
is another chapter in the story. 



XIII 



AT SPUEGEON'S TABEENACLE— TWO YEAES 
AS A SUBSTITUTE 

IT was a remarkable chain of circumstances that led 
Arthur T. Pierson, for thirty years prominently 
identified with the Presbyterian Church in Amer- 
ica, to leave his own country for the pulpit of the lead- 
ing Baptist Church in the world. The Metropolitan 
Tabernacle of London had become famous under the 
unique ministry of Pastor Charles H. Spurgeon. JSTot 
only did he preach each Lord's Day to audiences of five 
or six thousand people, but his sermons were printed and 
sent to the farthest corner of Christendom ; his Orphan- 
age, his Pastor's College, and other enterprises, formed a 
vast organization which required skillful management 
and a large income. When therefore, in the spring of 
1891, the sad news became known that Pastor Spurgeon 
was stricken with Bright's disease and was dangerously 
ill, the whole Christian world was deeply moved. Many 
were praying for his recovery and all were perplexed 
to know where a successor to such a man could be 
found. 

On the sixteenth of July word was cabled to 
America, and reached the Bible conference at Nlagara- 
on-the-Lake, that Mr. Spurgeon was dying. Immedi- 
ately a group of Christian men met for an hour to pray 
that God would spare this great man for further 
service. The next day cablegrams announced his 

226 



SPQRGEON S METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, LONDON 




INTERIOR OF METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, LONDON 
A speaker's view of the Audience Room from the Pulpit [on a level with 
the first gallery.] 



Invitation from Charles H. Spurgeon 227 

improvement and a praise service was held. One of 
this group was Arthur T. Pierson. He wrote a few 
days later to Pastor Spurgeon to tell him of the prayer- 
meeting and to express his sympathy and the earnest 
hope of all American Christians that his health might 
be fully restored. In reply he received the following 
letter : 

" Westwood, August 7, 1891. 
Zipper Norwood, London. 

" Deae De. Pieeson : 

" You can hardly imagine what joy Mr. Spurgeon 
felt this morning when I read to him your loving letter. 
Only last night he asked me to ascertain if you were 
still able to carry out the kind oifer of help that you 
made many months ago. Truly you must have been 
inspired to write just at this time. I am thankful to 
say that prayer has been heard in Mr. Spurgeon's 
behalf and that he is spared to us, but under the most 
favourable circumstances it must be many months 
before he will be able to preach. Mr. Spurgeon is not- 
yet well enough to enter into the details of any arrange- 
ments but he wishes to ask if you are free for three, 
four, five or six months, beginning with October, to 
' come over and help us.' . . . Mr. Spurgeon's 
illness has evoked such a spirit of prayer and caused 
such Bible searching on the part of the members that 
we believe the Tabernacle Church is being prepared for 
a great revival. Mr. Spurgeon's confident hope is that 
you may be used greatly to this end. He sends you 
his heart's love. 

" Yours very truly, 

" J. W. Haeeold, 

« Private Secretary" 

Just twenty-five years before the day on which this 
letter came the recipient had sat in the Metropolitan 



228 At Spurgeon's Tabernacle 



Tabernacle and for the first time had heard Mr. 
Spurgeon preach. The influence of that sermon and 
service had transformed many of his ministerial ideals. 
This is his testimony : 

" I often look back to the nineteenth day of August, 
1866, when I sat in the gallery of the Tabernacle and 
for the first time heard Charles H. Spurgeon speak. 
His text was taken from the closing verses of the third 
chapter of Ephesians. ... I made up my mind to 
imitate that man in the simplicity of his preaching, in 
his passion for souls, and in the boldness of his faith that 
dared to do everything for God. . . . Thus began 
that war for the truth, for a simple worship, and for 
entire dependence on God for which I have been fight- 
ing ever since." 

Mr. Spurgeon's invitation came as a surprise to his 
American friend, for though the offer of help had been 
given genuinely it was made with reference to general 
service and without any expectation that it would 
involve preaching at the Tabernacle. Dr. Pierson's 
answer was characteristic : 

" East Northfield, Mass., 

August 18, 1891. 

" My deaeest Spuegeon : 

"Please don't 'Keverend' or 'Doctor' me. I 
am not as reverend as you are for I am fifty-four and 
you are a little more venerable ; and as to ' Doctoring,' 
you unhappily have more need of it than I. . . . 

" Now as to the contents of your loving letter. I fell 
on my knees. There was a touch of the supernatural in 
all this and I was overawed. First of all, when I was 
unexpectedly called to preach in the Tabernacle in 
December, i889, never did I feel such divine uplift- 
ing. ... I felt that nowhere on earth would I so 



The Call Accepted 



229 



gladly hold forth the Word of life. . . . Now 
listen ! For the first time since I began to preach I 
am entirely free from all engagements after October 
1st. ... I do not know what I may be led to 
cable you. . . . It is of supreme consequence to me 
only to do the will of God and that can be known only 
through believing prayer. ... I must wait for 
clear signs of the Divine will before daring to take up 
a work so vast. The whole people have been chastened 
and the soil is mellow and ready for the sowing." 

As a result of this correspondence and prayer Dr. 
Pierson cabled Mr. Spurgeon St. Paul's answer to the 
Macedonian vision (Acts xvi. 9, 10) and received a most 
cordial invitation from the officers of the Tabernacle to 
preach for at least three months. It was not an easy 
matter, with a Review to edit and an aged mother and 
dependent children to care for, to make arrangements 
for an indefinite absence from home, but God prepared 
the way in this also. On September 25th he wrote in 
his prayer diary : " Wife and I rose at 4 a. m. for spe- 
cial prayer to commit the whole matter of the European 
trip to God (1) my mother ; (2) the children ; (3) money 
needed ; (4) house during absence ; (5) a new humility 
and anointing for work." 

These prayers were signally answered so that every 
step was made clear. Funds were provided from un- 
expected sources, and household arrangements were 
satisfactorily completed. What was of even greater 
importance, Dr. Pierson himself received new anoint- 
ings of spiritual power to prepare him for the service 
to which he had been called. 

On October 23d he arrived in London and on the 
following Monday Mr. Spurgeon had so far regained 



230 



At Spurgeon's Tabernacle 



strength that he was able to leave for Mentone in the 
south of France. Before he left London, however, 
these two men met at Beulah Hill for a brief prayer 
and conference. Of this last meeting Dr. Pierson 
wrote : " Notwithstanding his illness, he knelt with me 
to ask God's blessing upon my labours. 6 Oh, Lord,' 
he prayed, 6 we do not tell Thee how to work or what 
to do, only work like Thyself.' The prayer was so 
beautifully sweet and childlike that it reminded me 
of Count Zinzendorf at five years of age tossing letters 
out of the window to his ' dear Jesus.' This man of 
fifty-seven approached his Lord with the frankness and 
freedom of a little child." 

The prayer of faith was abundantly answered, not in 
the restoration of the beloved pastor's health but in the 
blessing of God that accompanied the ministry of his 
substitute in the Metropolitan pulpit. People at the 
Tabernacle were in the mood to hear the man who had 
come to preach and their own beloved Spurgeon further 
prepared them by his own " strong crying and tears " 
and by his weekly letters of hopeful encouragement. 
Some of these pastoral epistles are worth quoting not 
only because they reveal the man but because they 
show the way in which he upheld his American brother 
in the difficult work before him. Here are a few ex- 
tracts from Pastor Spurgeon's letters to his people : 

" I am relieved of great anxiety by the Lord's plainly 
directing me to secure Dr. Pierson to fill the pulpit 
during my absence. He is a man after my own heart 
and a great winner of souls. He will not aim at any- 
thing but the glory of God. He begs that the whole 
Church will grant him the aid of their united prayers 
and efforts. . . . Let nothing flag. . . . 



The Opening Day 



231 



" No one suggested Dr. Pierson to me ; it came from 
my heart and I think I was led of the Lord. I have 
had the closest fellowship of heart with this beloved 
brother as a champion of the faith. . . . 

" He has come among you in humble but unwaver- 
ing faith that the Lord is about to make bare His arm 
in our midst. I hope he has come to reap where others 
have sown and also to gather in some who have been 
withering by the wayside and were not in the field at 
all. I expect a great revival. I pray for it and I look 
for it. . . . My beloved brother brings you the 
divine proffer of a great blessing. Are we ready to 
receive it ? Are we prepared to use a flood-tide ? Oh ! 
that every member may say ' I am ' ! " 

From the first service these prayers and expectations 
of pastor and people were abundantly answered. Dr. 
Pierson came not with confidence in the flesh but with 
" weakness and much trembling." The Saturday night 
before his first service in the Tabernacle the responsi- 
bility weighed so heavily on him that he could not 
sleep. The sea voyage, which was always a trial, had 
upset his nervous and digestive system, so that he had 
violent agitation of the heart, with intermittent beating 
followed by accelerated action. He wrote: "I was 
alarmed for my life and rose with my wife at 3 a. m. 
to call on God for strength." This prayer was answered 
and in spite of continued weakness he went forward in 
faith with the strenuous services of the Sabbath. 

The opening day at the Tabernacle on Sunday morn- 
ing, October 25, 1891, augured well for the future. He 
preached to a crowded congregation from Acts x. 29, 
" Therefore, came I without gainsaying, as soon as I 
was sent for ; I ask, therefore, for what intent ye have 
sent for me ? " 



232 At Spurgeon's Tabernacle 



The five thousand worshippers were hushed and at- 
tentive though they must have felt the striking contrast 
between the personalities of their pastor and that of his 
substitute. One who was present thus describes his 
impression : 

" They are unlike physically and mentally, but one 
as to spiritual things. Dr. Pierson is a typical Amer- 
ican, tall, thin and ascetic-looking. He -is like a Puritan 
risen from his grave. He has a noble brow, an aquiline 
nose, a closely-clipped beard and mustache, a face that 
is almost too intellectual if it were not for the intense 
sympathy with his fellow creatures which beams forth 
from his expressive eyes. He has the bearing of a stu- 
dent but his speech was logic on fire. Both in matter 
and manners he was profoundly powerful. His action 
is graceful, suitable, forceful. Nothing seems studied 
yet there was unmistakable evidence that the doctor 
has a wide acquaintance with general literature and has 
diligently cultivated great natural talents. 

" Mr. Spurgeon was, on the contrary, in many ways 
a typical Englishman. His burly form and genial gaze 
reminded one of a gentleman farmer out for a holiday. 
His tender, lustrous eyes seemed ever full of quiet fun. 

" In style of oratory there is as wide a difference as 
between America and England. The sharp but loving 
home thrust of Spurgeon finds no place in Dr. Pierson 's 
speech. There is in the latter not the abrupt stab but 
a clear-cut argument, a cogent reason, a clear definition 
leading to an appeal. Spurgeon appealed chiefly to the 
heart, Pierson to the mind and conscience. Mr. Spur- 
geon was an artist in word painting ; Dr. Pierson does 
not picture in awful terms the penalties of a life of re- 
bellion against divine law, but he takes up the evil 



A Visitor's Viewpoint 



233 



thing, strips it of all the gay covering until it stands 
out naked and ghastly, a thing for loathing and disgust, 
from which his hearers long to shrink away ashamed. 
Spurgeon made you laugh ; Dr. Pierson is not without 
humour of the kind that makes you chuckle and keep 
quiet. 

" But Spurgeon and Pierson are more akin than the 
casual critic dreams. Just as the mantle of Carlisle 
fell upon John Ruskin, so surely the mantle of the 
Prophet of JSTevvington seems to rest on the shoulders 
of the American divine. They are both inspired by 
the same profound faith in the Unseen, without which 
it is impossible to wield a living force for righteousness 
among the masses. Both men give one the impression 
of sincerity and of a loathing for hypocrisy or cant or 
conventional platitudes. Spurgeon once risked every- 
thing by standing for the unpopular truth ; Dr. Pierson 
has shown the same rare independence of thought. 
Both men believe firmly in the divine decrees. In 
their teaching, sin is not represented as a necessary 
stage in the evolution of character, but as a crime 
against God which cannot be lightly passed over." 

Here in the Tabernacle pulpit, Dr. Pierson immedi- 
ately found himself at home. He was surrounded by 
an atmosphere of prayer ; the church officers met for 
prayer before the sermon and sat with him on the 
platform ; there was congregational singing in which 
all joined and when he referred to a passage of Scrip- 
ture there was a rustle of leaves from thousands of Bibles. 
The people were in a spirit of prayer and their sym- 
pathetic cooperation and response was often revealed 
by the way in which they followed up preaching with 
personal appeals to the unconverted. 



234 At Spurgeon's Tabernacle 



One result of this first sermon was revealed a year 
or t\YO later in a letter written to Dr. Pierson by a 
stranger who was present on that day : 

" Four years ago I was actively engaged in preach- 
ing and God was using me in the conversion of souls. 
Naturally of a nervous disposition, I found that by 
taking wine or brandy before speaking I was braced up 
and relieved of the exhaustion afterwards. . . . This 
sad habit grew upon me until I was helpless in speaking 
without alcoholic stimulant. . . . Then God laid me 
on my back with a severe hemorrhage, followed by 
delirium for a week. On my recovery I abstained for 
a few weeks, but was induced again to resort to stimu- 
lants and soon became cold and indifferent to spiritual 
things and mixed up in every form of evil. I can 
scarcely bring myself to write this but it may be a 
warning of God to others who are tampering with 
drink as I did. . . . Burdened with my sin but 
still away from the Lord, I went the first morning you 
preached in the Tabernacle. The Word was with 
mighty power and I cried to God for help. On 
November 1st, I heard you again and I cried to God a 
second time in my despair and He answered me. I 
yielded myself absolutely and unreservedly to Him and 
peace and joy flowed into my soul." 

At the same time the Adversary was not asleep in 
the metropolis and sought from the first to turn aside 
the thrusts of the Sword of the Spirit by counter thrusts 
of unfriendly criticism. An irate reporter, who failed 
to obtain an interview, printed in British papers and 
cabled to America false reports of utterances with the 
evident intention of bringing discredit on the preacher, 
stating, without foundation, that he had attacked Mr. 
Spurgeon in his absence and had charged his congrega- 
tion with doing things he had told them not to do. 



Letters from Spurgeon 235 



But there were few critics in the audience, for Dr. 
Pierson was one of those preachers who, in the first few 
minutes of his discourse, compelled the conviction that 
he was thoroughly in earnest, was convinced of the 
truth he was preaching and was consumed with a passion 
for the salvation of men's souls. Men and women 
yielded to such sincerity and loving appeal whereas 
they would have been unmoved by the formal eloquence 
of an orator. They lost sight of the preacher in the 
divine message that he presented. 

Much of the power evident in these Tabernacle services 
was due to the congregation. At the outset of his min- 
istry there Dr. Pierson proposed a union of prayer for a 
great outpouring of the Holy Spirit and this suggestion 
met with a hearty response. He wrote home : 

" The Metropolitan Tabernacle is emphatically a 
house of prayer. Here are numerous rooms in which 
prayer is almost ceaselessly going up to God. When 
one meeting is not in progress another is. There are 
prayer-meetings before preaching and others after 
preaching. No wonder that Mr. Spurgeon's ministry 
was so blessed. May not the whole Church of God 
learn something as to the power of simple gospel 
preaching backed by believing prayer." 

In the south of France the tidings of blessing brought 
joy to the heart of Pastor Spurgeon and he wrote to 
his substitute : 

" The Lord's name be praised that ever I knew you. 
He planned to set me aside and at the same time He 
made you ready to fill the vacancy. Every word about 
you makes me praise God for sending you. I feel that 
I can rest in you as one sent by my Faithful Lord to do 



236 



At Spurgeon's Tabernacle 



faithfully His work. May you never have to regret 
anything in connection with your remarkable deed of 
brotherly love. . . . 

" Moses may be weak but Aaron and Hur are strong 
in the Lord. I am mending as to the flesh but quite 
restored in spirit. Before long I hope to be on the 
watch-tower again and gratefully surveying the fort 
which you have held to the satisfaction of all the 
garrison. . . . 

" I trust that Mrs. Pierson is not unhappy in the city 
of Gog, Magog and Fog. I cannot wonder but I do 
ponder over the great unselfish love that keeps you 
grinding in the fog that I may rest in the sun. God 
bless you and make it up to you. 

" Yours ever heartily, 

" C. H. Spttkgeon," 

This prayer too was answered and soon there were 
so many letters from those desiring counsel and re- 
quests for personal interviews with inquirers that it 
would have required live secretaries to answer them. 

It may be well here to notice some of Dr. Pierson's 
ideals for preaching and his method of sermon prepara- 
tion. These were revealed in his lectures to the stu- 
dents of the Pastor's College 1 — the institution so near 
and dear to Mr. Spurgeon's heart. The Bible was his 
sole text-book and to him was the supreme and unerr- 
ing revelation of God and His will. He became satu- 
rated with its teachings and language so that on every 
subject and on every occasion the Scriptures furnished 
him the basis for faith and the rules for action. 

In the preparation of a sermon he went to the Bible, 

1 These lectures were printed in a volume entitled " The Divine 
Art of Preaching." Later he also published a book called " The Mak- 
ing of a Sermon. ' ' 



Sermon Preparation 



2 37 



as inspired of God, and examined every word to dis- 
cover its full meaning and every phrase to interpret 
its revelation. Thus the treasures of the Scriptures 
were inexhaustible, its arguments were unanswerable 
and its promises unbreakable. The results of his daily 
Scripture study were entered on the wide margins or 
the blank pages of his interleaved Bibles. As soon 
as one was filled he bought another, for he never 
rested satisfied with the discoveries of the past. There 
were always new mysteries to be revealed, new treas- 
ures to be dug up for the enrichment of life. " He who 
stops learning must stop preaching," was his adage. His 
insight into the meaning of texts was largely the result 
of his ability to compare Scripture with Scripture, and 
the Old and New Testaments were each searched for 
their contribution to the theme in hand. He said : 

" The Holy Scriptures are inspired by the same Holy 
Spirit that dwells in the believer. All true insight 
into the Bible, therefore, hangs on the unveiling of 
the eyes to behold wondrous things in the Word. It 
follows, then, that the greatest help in the preparation 
of sermons is a prayerful, humble, devout study of the 
Bible. Every text in God's Word is a divine gem 
which is to be cut and polished upon the wheel of the 
Spirit. The true preacher prays and meditates on the 
Scriptures until he has a vision and he never preaches 
until he has the vision. To get one's sermons from the 
illuminating power of the Holy Spirit begets marvel- 
lous courage. Such a preacher is bound to speak the 
truth in love. 

" I feel constrained to bear witness that no amount of 
study of commentaries or any other human product has 
been of help to me in any way comparable to the de- 
votional, spiritual study of the Scriptures in the original 
tongue — carefully noting every word, phrase, case of a 



238 At Spurgeon's Tabernacle 

noun, mood and tense, number and person of a verb 
and the relation of clauses and phrases to each 
other. . . . 

"The highest kind of homiletic analysis is not an 
invention but a discovery, not a product of ingenuity 
but a result of illumination. Take for example our 
Lord's intercessory prayer (John xvii.). A careful 
study shows that the four prepositions reveal our 
Lord's conception of the relation of the believer to the 
world. 

1. They are in the world. 

2. They are not of the world. 

3. They are chosen out of the world. 

4. They are sent into the world. 

The same chapter reveals the progress of the believer : 
" (1) Separation ; (2) Sanctification ; (3) Unity ; (4) 
Glory. Nothing can be added, nothing can be sub- 
tracted from these ; neither can the order be changed. " 

Some of Dr. Pierson's convictions as to preaching 
are also helpful : 

1. Preach the truth of God, not human philosophy. 
Do not make the mistake of seeking your message from 
books and current events rather than from the Word 
of God. The only safe rule is to give your people 
nothing that you do not find in the Holy Scriptures. 

2. Preach the fundamental truths. One may preach 
a great many things that are in the Bible and yet may 
leave out Christ and the only truth that can save men 
and that can teach them how to live. 

3. Preach fundamental truth with a deep spiritual 
experience back of it. A man is powerless to teach 
sanctification unless he is living it. 

4. Preach in the spirit of prayer and in dependence 
on the power of the Holy Spirit. If a man has doubt 
or is ignorant of the reality of the work of the Spirit, 
he has no right to preach. 



" The Temptation Stairway " 



ft 



WHICH WAY 
ARE YOU GOING? 



HEAVEN 

Eph. it. 7. 



Helping 
Others. 



Free from 
Temptation. 



Habitual 
Victory. 



fit 



Overcoming 
Temptation. 



Resisting 
Temptation. 



ALL MEN 
TEMPTED. 



Trifling with 
Temptation. 



Occasional 
Yielding. 



Habitual 
Yielding. 



Slaves 
to Sin. 



CO 



Tempting 
Others. 



HELL 

Matt. ix. 48. 



UP OR DOWN? 

Romans vi. 2 3 . 



240 



At Spurgeon's Tabernacle 



There were helps to memory that marked the out- 
lines — alliteration, groups of threes or sevens — and 
there were sometimes graphic illustrations that could 
not fail to impress an audience. One such pictorial 
presentation is the " Temptation Stairway " used to 
illustrate the texts Ephesians vi. 12 and 1 Corin- 
thians x. 13. 

But while Dr. Pierson took his themes and his argu- 
ments from the Word of God he by no means neg- 
lected other sources of knowledge. He had an exten- 
sive and carefully selected library and an even more 
extensive acquaintance with all branches of literature. 
In his study at home were a hundred large boxes, in- 
dexed according to important subjects and letters of 
the alphabet — not a complicated system but one for 
ready reference. These boxes contained illustrative 
material, scientific, historical and biographical notes ; 
poetry, essays and sermons. No pains were spared in 
making preparation thorough. After he had obtained 
his message from the Bible he searched personal ex- 
perience, history, the lives of other men, science and 
philosophy for illustrations of the truth. 

When he had satisfactorily gathered and arranged 
his material he made full and careful outlines, print- 
ing them by hand in almost copperplate style, so that 
they were easily legible for pulpit use. Some thirty 
bound volumes of these pen-printed outlines — con- 
taining a thousand sermons — reveal the result of his 
painstaking industry. He was accustomed to write out 
some sermons, not to be read or printed, but to insure 
clearness of thought and accuracy of expression. 

The titles of some of the sermons most blessed in his 
ministry indicate the simplicity of the phrasing and the 



Some Tabernacle Sermons 241 



character of the subjects selected : " The Lessons of 
Pentecost," Acts x. 29 ; " First Things First," Matt, 
vi. 33 ; " The Heart of the Gospel," John hi. 16 ; " The 
Secret of the Untroubled Heart," John xiv. 1-27 ; 
"Awakening, Arming, Acting," Eomans xiii. 11-14; 
"Micah's Question," Micah vii. 18-20 ; "The Word of 
God," James i. ; " ^Redemption," Ephesians i. 6, 7 ; 
"Preservation and Presentation," Jude 24 and 25; 
" The Sum of the Gospel," Hebrews viii. 1. 1 

Concerning the results of his work in the Tabernacle 
Dr. Pierson wrote in his devotional diary on January 
2, 1892 : 

" Another wonderful chapter in the dealings of the 
Lord. Three months of uninterrupted health and hap- 
piness. Everybody cordial and sympathetic and re- 
sponsive. Fifty souls gathered in in December and 
many more inquiring. Immense after-meetings in the 
Tabernacle. Prayer-meetings of the profoundest in- 
terest. 

"Am deeply impressed with the dealings of God. 
Never such fertility and freshness of gospel themes or 
such power in presentation. Mind full of subjects of 
vital importance touching the marrow of gospel truth. 
Spurgeon wants me to continue three months more. 
What God would have me do is the great question. 
Pray for greater simplicity and particularly for single- 
ness of aim and humility of mind — not ever to think of 
myself highly. JSTo grace is so difficult for me as * 
humility. I want a lowly mind." 

The three months for which Dr. Pierson had been 

1 Three volumes of sermons were printed from his Tabernacle min- 
istry — "Heights of the Gospel," "Heart of the Gospel," and 
"Hopes of the Gospel." 



242 At Spurgeon's Tabernacle 



asked to preach at the Tabernacle had scarcely expired 
when word came from Men tone that Spurgeon was 
sinking. Not only the great congregation but all Lon- 
don and the whole Christian Church mourned when he 
finally passed away on the last day of January, 1892. 
What Dr. Pierson was to the sorrowing members of 
his flock during the days that followed only those who 
passed through the trying ordeal can imagine. In 
spite of severe illness which weakened him painfully 
he was with them at the early morning prayer-meet- 
ings, and preached at the daily services of the week 
preceding the funeral. Altogether he delivered no less 
than thirty-three memorial addresses, each distinctly 
different. His words of comfort and cheer were like 
soothing ointment on painful wounds and an experi- 
ence of grief that might have led many into doubt and 
despair was thus used to confirm faith and point the 
way to certain immortality. 

Immediately after Mr. Spurgeon's death, Dr. Pierson 
sent his resignation to the officers of the church but 
they besought him to remain. Their hearts had been 
knit together by a common — or uncommon — suffering ; 
he was the pastor's choice and the brother and co-pastor, 
James Spurgeon, president of the Pastor's College, was 
drawn to him by bonds of sympathy that daily increased 
in strength. 

James Spurgeon wrote in a letter to Dr. Theodore 
L. Cuyler of Brooklyn, New York : 

" My heart is enlarged with fuller gratitude to our 
heavenly Father for His care of us through the dear 
brother whom the American Church has lent for a 
while (would that it were a gift ! ) to the sister Church 
of England. I refer to Dr. Arthur T. Pierson, who 



Results of London Ministry 243 

has taken all our hearts by storm, and who holds us 
still captive under his gracious gospel spell. We can 
never tell what we owe him ; and just now we feel as 
if we cannot spare him without risking a loss too heavy 
to be borne. The smitten flock here has been richly 
fed under his faithful preaching of the truth once for 
all delivered to the saints. Permit me, then, to express 
how much we owe to some of America's choicest sons 
in this time of irreparable loss and crushing anguish ; 
and let me through you, my dear doctor, return our 
grateful acknowledgments for all this avalanche of 
love." 

Above all God had set His seal on the work of the 
past three months. Hundreds had been brought into 
the church and literally thousands of letters testified 
to the spiritual fruit of his ministry. These letters 
were from all classes of men and women, from stran- 
gers and sojourners, from officers and parishioners. 
Each told its own story of help received to meet a pe- 
culiar need. One spoke of conversion during a sermon 
on "Christ at the Door" followed by conversation 
and 'prayer in the vestry ; another was from a young 
man brought from skepticism and sin into Christian 
life and service ; one came from a lukewarm Christian 
who had first been led to a sense of sin and then into 
full surrender and joyful fellowship. Others testified 
to new zeal in service for the master and new power in 
winning men to Him. But most of all they were from 
those who had been led to see new revelations of truth 
in the Bible, who had gained new confidence in its 
authority and a keener desire to search its mysteries. 

Other letters told of whole Sunday-school classes 
converted ; of husbands, brothers, sons who had been 
wandering in the darkness, now brought into the light. 



244 



At Spurgeon's Tabernacle 



These testimonies greatly humbled Dr. Pierson and 
led him to give heartfelt thanks to God. They also 
strengthened his confidence that he had been divinely 
sent to the Tabernacle for that critical period. But 
more than all else they confirmed his belief in the Bible 
as the very Word of God and in expository preaching 
as the most fruitful in spiritual results. He saw other 
men, of equal or greater ability, preaching without 
these results, on literature, science, or the topics of the 
day but with an uncertain faith in the Bible. Some of 
them drew large audiences and evoked public commen- 
dation and yet their ministry did not seem to bear fruit 
in men and women with transformed lives, with new 
love for God and a deepened desire to know and to do 
His will. These observations and his own experience 
were to him conclusive evidence of the divine inspira- 
tion of the Scriptures and of their power as the Sword 
of the Spirit. 

It is little wonder that Dr. Pierson accepted, as God's 
call, the invitation of the officers and people to continue 
preaching until June. Beyond that date he could not 
promise as his family and especially his aged mother, 
then nearly ninety years old, required his presence in 
America. 

Many of the congregation openly advocated the call- 
ing of Dr. Pierson to fill the vacant pastorate but this 
was obviously impossible as he was not a Baptist and 
he did not purpose becoming one. Dr. James Spur- 
geon had grown so attached to his American brother 
that he advised a co-pastorate with Dr. Pierson as 
preacher, even without any change of views. Immer- 
sion would not have been a stumbling-block, as he had 
for many years held the form of baptism to be an open 



A Successor to Spurgeon 



question and even as far back as his Detroit pastorate 
had caused a baptistry to be built in the church for 
those who might desire to be immersed. He would 
not have hesitated to be immersed if that would open 
the door to wider service but he refused to consider such 
a step at present lest it should seem to be taken in self- 
interest for the sake of securing the Tabernacle pulpit. 

After a conference with some of the officers, who 
urged upon him a consideration of the pastorate, he 
entered in his note-book the reasons for and against 
such action. Twenty-eight arguments seemed to point 
towards his continuance at the Tabernacle, but when 
he looked at the other side he found forty-eight reasons 
against the proposition. As a result of his deliberation 
the following message was sent (February 25, 1892) to 
Eev. James A. Spurgeon : 

" In my opinion it is not wise for me to encourage 
any expectation of a prolonged or indefinite stay among 
this dear people. ... I foresee that the sooner this 
great church settles down to permanent work with a 
permanent pastor the better all around." 

He received a unanimous request from the officers 
and people to return in October for another year of 
work in the church at the Tabernacle and he promised 
to do so if the way was still open to him and if the 
church was still without a pastor. 

The work of the year culminated on Sunday, June 
25th, with memorial services to Mr. Spurgeon and a 
farewell meeting to Dr. Pierson on the following even- 
ing. This meeting was in many respects remarkable : 
The Tabernacle was nearly filled with four thousand peo- 
ple and the mutual expressions of love were hearty and 



246 At Spurgeon's Tabernacle 

sincere. One of the members who was present wrote : 
" Had any one a year ago told the thousands who Sun- 
day after Sunday throng the Tabernacle that in a brief 
twelvemonth they would lose their beloved and match- 
less pastor and that a minister, then a stranger to them, 
would so win their hearts and command their loyalty 
that they would regard him with scarcely less enthusi- 
astic devotion than they felt towards Charles Haddon 
Spurgeon, the announcement would have been discred- 
ited and rejected. But the prediction would have been 
verified." 

A son of Charles H. Spurgeon was called to occupy 
the pulpit for the summer months, while Dr. Pier son 
was in America. Ill-health had obliged this son, 
Thomas, to reside in Australia and there was little ex- 
pectation that he would be available to fill his father's 
place permanently, even if that should be the desire of 
the people. 

Dr. Pierson sailed for home in June, 1892, with the 
hearty " Godspeed " of a united congregation and from 
Liverpool sent back a message, like a last wave of the 
hand, as the ship bore him away to his own shores. 

" Dearly-beloved friends at the Metropolitan Tabernacle : 
" I cannot set sail without one more sweet word 
of prayerful and affectionate commendation of you all 
to the care of the Great Shepherd. My eight months' 
ministry among you has been one long experience of 
ceaseless mercy from our Father's hand, and of con- 
siderate courtesy and prayerful cooperation on your 
part. . . . Whether I come and see you or be 
absent, may I hear that you stand fast in one spirit as 
one man, striving together for the faith of the Gospel. 

" I now speak for Thomas (The Twin), the dearly 
beloved son of your departed pastor. Pray for him. 



A Difficult Problem 



2 47 



You may all help, as I think you will, to make his 
ministry acceptable and profitable. Let his constant 
testimony be that in you he finds a praying people, and 
so shall the Word of the Lord have free course and be 
glorified. . . . 

" When this letter is read to you I shall be on the 
sea, praying for you all. Let these words be true, 
6 And after eight days again His disciples were within, 
and Thomas with them ; then came Jesus, the doors 
being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be 
unto you. . . . Then were the disciples glad when 
they saw the Lord.' « 

" Tours, with a loving farewell, 

" Arthur T. Pierson." 

Thomas Spurgeon's ministry during the following 
summer proved a blessing to many of the people and 
there was a strong but not unanimous movement in 
favour of extending to him an invitation to the pastor- 
ate. This information was conveyed to Dr. Pierson 
anonymously at first and he immediately wrote to 
London : 

" If the people of the Tabernacle desire to call Mr. 
Thomas Spurgeon and are hindered because they have 
invited me to supply the pulpit, I am more than ready 
to retire and leave them absolutely free. ... If 
you should cable releasing me, it would be only a relief 
to my mind, so anxious am I not to go back to the 
Tabernacle without the clear leading of God." 

Much correspondence followed on both sides and 
perplexities increased. False reports of newspaper 
interviews complicated the situation. Many letters 
came urging that he keep his promise to return and 
renew his ministry there. His engagement in Scotland 
as Duff lecturer required that he go to England in any 



248 At Spurgeon's Tabernacle 

event. His diary and letters to his friends at this 
period reveal how sore a trial it was to him " to even 
seem to crowd out a son of C. H. Spurgeon or to come 
into competition with him." He sought to relieve the 
complication by declaring again, " I am not a candidate 
and if the officers will release me I will be glad to retire 
even from a temporary supply. ' ' After much prayer and 
conference with friends he decided to leave the decision 
entirely in the hands of the officers of the Tabernacle 
and cabled them accordingly. They replied, "An 
enthusiastic welcome awaits you." Then he cabled 
back (Philemon 22) : " But withal prepare me also a 
lodging, for I trust that through your prayers I shall 
be given unto you." He accordingly sailed on Novem- 
ber 9, 1892, with the hope and prayer that as before 
his ministry had been blessed to a grieving people, so 
this time he might be of service in uniting a distracted 
congregation. 

This second ministry was almost as markedly blessed 
as the first. There was not quite the same unanimity 
and the Baptist papers of London assumed a less 
friendly tone. Enemies even arose who manipulated 
correspondence and printed spurious interviews. His 
sensitive nature was hurt but he only wrote in his 
diary : " The newspaper controversy is very vexatious 
but when * He giveth quietness who can make trouble,' 
I have given all my affairs into His hands." Neverthe- 
less the strain of those months told on his health and 
on the health of his wife. 

Gradually an unfortunate division arose between 
those who advocated a call to the American preacher 
and those who favoured the son of the former pastor. 
Dr. Pierson sought to eliminate himself from the con- 



A Farewell Poem 



249 



test by announcing repeatedly that he was not a 
candidate for the office, but his friends refused to 
accept his statement as final, until at last he wrote for- 
bidding his name to be brought forward even as a 
temporary supply. 

The congregation finally overwhelmingly voted to 
invite Thomas Spurgeon to return to the pulpit for 
twelve months' service " with a view to the pastorate," 
and Dr. Pierson brought his temporary ministry to a 
close in June, 1893. Again the hundreds of letters that 
poured in upon him left no room for doubt that God 
had acknowledged his message. Many testified that it 
required the second period of preaching to complete the 
work of the first. 

A beautifully illumined memorial and oil painting of 
Charles H. Spurgeon were presented to him at a farewell 
reception, and a clock, with cathedral chimes to Mrs. 
Pierson. The congregation pledged to pray for their 
American friends whenever the clock struck ten. 

One of his admirers sent the following parody on the 
familiar verses of " Father O'Flynn." 

" Doctor A. P., you've the charmin'est way wid ye : 
What a delight 'tis to sing and to pray wid ye ! 
Sunday ! ava ! We could spend all the day wid ye, 
You've such a way wid ye, Doctor A. P. 

" Since you've been here many hearts you have won ; 
To thousands of folk untold good you have done. 
Kindliest creature, and tenderest teacher, 
And pow'rfullest preacher in all Newington. 

" Doctor A. P., how we grieve you are lavin' us ; 
Stalwart and true, you have ne'er been decavin' us, 
Upwards and higher you've always been wavin' us, 
You're always for savin' us, Doctor A. P. 



2 5 



At Spurgeon's Tabernacle 



" Best blessings go wid ye, frind, over the say ! 
What' 11 we do when you're gone — and away ! 
You kindliest creature, you tenderest teacher, 
And pow'rfullest preacher in all Newington." 

We cannot conclude this chapter better than by 
quoting a testimony from one of the deacons of the 
Tabernacle, Mr. William Olney, giving a portrait of Dr. 
Pierson during his London ministry : 

" Dr. Pierson was of an extremely affectionate nature, 
and the Christian love he showed to one he showed to 
others so that much of the great influence which he 
exerted over the minds of men came from the love 
he showed in countenance and word and action. This 
tenderness of heart was linked with extreme austerity 
in Christian doctrine and practice so that the slightest 
departure from the Word of Divine Truth was visited 
with a fiery indignation which contrasted strangely 
to the usual tenderness of his disposition. At times 
also, the amiability of his character was hidden beneath 
an apparent cold exterior which came from detach- 
ment of mind when soul and thought were centred 
on the work of God or the study of some special sub- 
ject. 

" The ordinary, daily life of the dear man of God 
was so unworldly as to be well-nigh ascetic. His 
countenance reflected the purity of his soul, and, in 
connection with the table or secular amusements he 
would allow no gratification of personal taste to inter- 
fere with his work for God to which he made all else 
subordinate. He ate sparingly, his conversation was 
almost invariably concerning the Word and work of his 
Saviour. Eo one could be in his company for long 
without recognizing in him the image of his Lord. 



An Officer's Testimony 



' Even Christ pleased not Himself ' was the motive 
power in almost all that Dr. Pierson did and said. 

" His love for the Bible was extraordinary. Day 
after day he would seldom let the twelve hours pass 
without announcing that he had ' made a discovery,' 
in the fields of Holy Writ. These discoveries were 
of hidden meanings or of comparisons which sprang 
from his intense searching of the Sacred Book. Some 
of these gems of thought were never given to the public 
but others came out in his public sermons and lectures. 
His pulpit utterances gave him extraordinary popularity 
in London. Christian workers were drawn from many 
other places of worship to sit at his feet as he dispensed 
from Sabbath to Sabbath in the Tabernacle the result 
of his Spirit-taught discoveries in Divine Truth. A 
leader of one of the missions connected with the 
Tabernacle told me that they might as well close their 
Sunday morning service altogether when Dr. Pierson 
was preaching at the Tabernacle as the avidity to hear 
this servant of God brought most of the workers away 
from the mission for the earlier service on the Lord's 
Day. When Dr. Pierson left his ministry at the Tab- 
ernacle the attendances were as remarkable as at the 
close of Charles H. Spurgeon's life." 

Another testimony worth quoting was from the 
officers : " The deacons of the Tabernacle feel that they 
have had two sermons — one from you or rather from 
God through you — and one in you." 



XIV 



IMMEKSION AND ITS CONSEQUENCES— A 
BATTLE OF CONSCIENCE 

IT would be difficult for any conscientious man, who 
was earnestly seeking to " fulfill all righteousness " 
as well as to preach it, to minister for two years 
to such a congregation as that which met in the 
Metropolitan Tabernacle, without being deeply in- 
fluenced in his own life and character. When we con- 
sider that Dr. Pierson, in his London ministry, found 
himself face to face with a large body of people who 
listened eagerly to his messages and learned to love him 
deeply and yet differed from him radically in regard to 
one of the principal sacraments of the Christian Church, 
it is not to be wondered at that he was led to investigate 
again the teachings of Scripture and to review his 
reasons for belief and practice as to baptism. 

The first time that he met Charles H. Spurgeon they 
talked in a friendly way on the subject of believer's 
baptism ; then during his Tabernacle ministry many 
communications appeared in the press and hundreds of 
personal letters on the subject came to Dr. Pierson. 
In this way the matter was brought frequently before 
him and he was urged by Dr. James Spurgeon and 
others to join the Baptist ranks and to allow his name 
to be presented for election as pastor. He was not un- 
willing to submit to immersion, if his influence would 
thereby be increased, but few can realize the struggle 
that must take place before a man sixty years of age 

252 



a * 



Friendly Debates 



2 53 



and one of Dr. Pierson's standing and strength of con- 
victions would turn his back on the position he had 
held in the Presbyterian Church for over thirty years. 
Such a step, he knew, would separate him from many 
whom he dearly loved and honoured, would be misin- 
terpreted by unfriendly critics and might even for a 
time hinder his ministry. 

The form of baptism had never been, to his thought, 
an important question and it will be remembered that 
the subject had come up in connection with his Detroit 
and Philadelphia pastorates. In London his close 
friend, Benjamin Greenwood, argued long and ably 
for the Baptist position, but at as great length and as 
ably Dr. Pierson replied, meeting Scripture with Scrip- 
ture. He was still occupying Spurgeon's pulpit when 
he wrote to one of the officers of the Tabernacle, on 
February 9, 1893, as follows : 

" My dear Brother and Friend : 

" So long as I am in the Tabernacle I cannot 
calmly and deliberately weigh these questions. With- 
out being consciously a reflector of others' opinions, or 
in any undue measure influenced thereby, I have so 
high a regard for my Baptist brethren that I cannot 
help trying to see matters as they do ; and not until I 
am alone with the Lord and His Word, away from all 
this personal contact, can I finally reach the clear con- 
clusions I wish to attain. 

" Thus far I cannot convince myself by any logic 
that the ground we have covered in argument is not a 
debatable territory, within which there is room for an 
honest and intelligent difference of opinion. The main 
objection to the Baptists in my mind is that, as a body, 
they do not concede this. My views on these topics, 
as held for years, are treated as examples of unscrip- 
tural ground held by a man who has such knowledge 



Immersion and Its Consequences 



of Scripture as makes his position on these points the 
more surprising and inconsistent! ... I might 
abandon infant baptism as of doubtful authority, and 
accept believer's baptism and immersion as on the 
whole most obviously conformed to the common im- 
pression of Scripture. But, as I now see it, I could not 
stand with the great bulk of Baptists in denying that 
there is any logical and Scriptural foundation for the 
Abrahamic Covenant and infant baptism, or that there 
are not as many texts that may lead an honest mind 
to find affusion a legitimate baptism, as others might 
lead to immersion. Should I be immersed, it would be 
only to conform to the more satisfactory mode of meet- 
ing the question of believer's baptism ; and, however 
I might abandon infant baptism, I should never doubt 
that men equally Scriptural, honest, and quite as de- 
voted as I, if not far more so, may, with as good 
grounds, draw other inferences. I hate bigotry, even 
when it goes by the name of ' positive conviction. ' On 
some matters the Word of God admits of more than 
one interpretation. ' Let every man be fully persuaded 
in his own mind.' I believe that in God's eyes I am 
now a baptized believer, and I can never submit to im- 
mersion, if by so doing I am making a concession to 
those who would unchurch everybody who does not 
interpret the Scripture just as they do." 

It was nearly three years later, long after he had 
finally left the Tabernacle and after Rev. Thomas 
Spurgeon had been installed as pastor and was engaged 
in a successful ministry, that Dr. Pierson finally de- 
cided to abandon publicly his former position and to 
submit to a re-baptism. We do not intend to give at 
length all the steps that led to this decision or the 
reasons that weighed with him but the event was so 
important in his own life that the transition calls for 
a brief explanation. In order to make his position 



Letter to the Philadelphia Presbytery 255 

clear to his brethren in the Philadelphia Presbytery he 
wrote them in 1894, two years before he was finally 
immersed, suggesting that a letter be given him to the 
Congregational body. We give extended extracts 
from this communication because it reveals the work- 
ings of his mind : 

"In the year 1876, God gave me an experience of 
sudden illlumination, which brought into my soul a 
flood of light, and made the Word of God a new book. 
Much that I had been taught, and had assumed as true, 
then seemed at least of doubtful Scriptural authority ; 
and every matter was submitted to the searching light 
of God's Word, according to His criterion: 'To the 
Law and to the Testimony ; if they speak not accord- 
ing to this Word it is because there is no light in them.' 
Two things impressed me : first, that the Bible was to 
be the final arbiter in all matters of doctrine and duty ; 
and, second, that it was the guide not of scholars only, 
but of the common disciples ; and hence that would be 
a correct impression, ordinarily, which prayerful study 
would leave on the average mind of believers. 

" By such criteria I sought to test whatever I had 
been wont to accept as true, and all the great vital 
doctrines seemed to become more clear under the most 
careful Bible study. The Being of God, the Atoning 
work of Christ, His divine character, the Personality 
and Deity of the Spirit, and His Eegenerating and 
sanctifying work, the Inspiration of Scripture even to 
its words, the universal fact of sin, and need of the new 
birth, and the future state of Awards seem to me 
plainly taught in the Bible. 

" The Presbyterian polity seemed likewise in accord 
with the synagogue with its bench of Presbyters. 



Immersion and Its Consequences 



. . . Thus far my Presbyterian training gave me no 
occasion for misgiving. But, on reading the Acts of 
the Apostles, I felt strongly that the obvious impres- 
sion left on an unprejudiced reader would be that those 
who heard and believed the gospel message were bap- 
tized, and that such believer's baptism was so connected 
with confession of Christ, as to be itself the substance 
of such confession. . . . 

6 <• Another impression left by the reading of the Acts 
was that infant baptism has, in that book, a very slen- 
der basis of authority. The common, unbiassed student 
would not infer that such was the primitive custom. 
In every case but one, where the baptism of households 
is referred to, their 4 believing ' is also recorded. 

" These misgivings I silenced for years by quoting to 
myself the sanction of long custom, and by the logical 
argument which goes back to the Abrahamic Covenant. 

" There is something sublime in such an ideal, the 
believing parent, in advance, setting to his seal that 
God is true, and claiming covenant promise in behalf 
of his child. Then, as the circumcised child, when 
about twelve years old, taking his part in his first pass- 
over, would ratify the parental act, so the baptized 
child taking part in the Lord's Supper on becoming of 
age would ratify his own baptism by confessing the faith 
anticipated by his parents and solemnly sealed by them 
in advance as his representatives. 

" This seemed a true philosophy, and yet my doubts 
as to the Scriptural authority for this ordinance were 
not easily dismissed. The question arose, would any 
plain Scriptural command be neglected if I did not 
baptize my children ? I was compelled to admit the 
absence of any such direct injunction, and that so far 



Infant Baptism 



257 



as the explicit teaching of the Word goes, the practice 
found but little support or sanction. Almost if not 
quite all the arguments in its favour would be met if 
some form of infant consecration or dedication were 
substituted in its stead, whereby parents could in be- 
half of their children claim covenant blessings and set 
their seal upon the promises by a formal act, offering 
them to God, without applying to them a sacrament 
meant for intelligent believers as a seal and confession 
of personal and saving faith. 

" I observed with increasing misgiving that in actual 
practice infant baptism is sometimes a snare. ~No 
doubt many holy men and women hold a high ideal of 
the ordinance, but practically it is too often adminis- 
tered in cases where parents are at best only nominal 
believers, and where no real pious training is assured 
to the child. 

"In the Presbyterian standards, though they are 
more carefully worded than some others, I find no 
word concerning baptized children which emphasizes 
their need, as much as unbaptized children, of the re- 
generating influence of the Spirit. They are treated 
as within the pale of the church, under its inspection 
and government, to be taught all Christian duties, 
and ' when they come to years of discretion, if they be 
free from scandal, appear sober and steady, and to have 
sufficient knowledge to discern the Lord's body, they 
ought to be informed it is their duty and their privilege 
to come to the Lord's Supper.' . . . 

" This language leaves a baptized child to infer that 
to be sober, steady and free from scandal, and to 
have knowledge to discern the body of Christ in the 
bread, are sufficient signs of a disciple and admit to 



258 



Immersion and Its Consequences 



the Lord's Table. Is not the fact that, judged by such 
criteria, many an utterly unregenerated person actually 
finds entrance to our communion? ... If in 
our day of superficial and unsanctified morality, any 
truth needs emphasis, it is that ' except a man be born 
again — born from above — he cannot enter nor even see 
the kingdom of God.' A baptized infant needs, as 
much as any other, the new birth. . . . 

" For a considerable part of two years, when I was 
at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, God blessed 
the simple Gospel to the awakening of hundreds of 
► souls. I was sought by scores of inquirers who had 
been depending upon baptism in infancy to such a de- 
gree that they had no clear sense of their need of 
the new birth. They felt a false security in having 
been engrafted into Christ in infancy and could not see 
why any other fitness for the Lord's Table was needed. 
I did what most of my brethren would have done — 
sought to turn them from all such sacramental snares 
to the one basis of assurance, the acceptance of Christ 
by faith and the renewing of the Spirit. 

" Another perplexity confronted me in meeting in- 
quirers. Not a few, brought up as psedo-baptists, be- 
ing converted under my preaching, conscientiously de- 
sired believer's baptism, on what they believed to be 
Scriptural grounds. . . . They asked my advice, 
and I found it difficult to give them honest counsel 
without departing from my Presbyterian position that 
infant baptism made other baptism needless. 

" Yet a third class of converts consulted me as to the 
baptism of their children. Though brought up to be- 
lieve this to be a duty, they could find no sufficient 
Biblical warrant for the practice. Of course they were 



Difficult Problems 



259 



not of the Tabernacle congregation but outsiders who 
had there found converting grace. I could not hon- 
estly say that I was myself satisfied of the Biblical 
basis of infant baptism, and could only counsel them to 
be fully persuaded in their own minds. This compul- 
sory process of introspection forced from me the con- 
fession that whatever Scriptural ground might exist 
for parental covenant and infant dedication, I must re- 
sort to the tradition of the elders, and the antiquity of 
custom for the sanction of infant baptism. If a sacra- 
ment is a seal of faith, is it proper to apply to an 
infant child a seal of the faith which in the nature of 
the case exists only in the parent f 

" I have always found it best when in doubt, and 
I know not what to do, to do nothing until the way 
is made clear ; or if compelled to choose, take the 
course least liable to error. Though my doubts have 
not yet settled into positive convictions, it has be- 
come clear that to give encouragement to infant bap- 
tism while such serious misgivings exist is compromis- 
ing my conscience. . . . 

" After more than sixteen years of prayerful study 
these are my maturest conclusions, and though I am 
conscious of no radical divergence from my former 
faith, it is due to perfect candour that I make them 
known. . . . Were there room in the church where 
I am for a position such as I have indicated, substituting 
infant consecration for infant baptism and leaving con- 
secrated children to confess Christ in believer's baptism, 
the Presbyterian Church would, in my judgment, be 
worthy to stand as the true Catholic church of the 
world. It would present a type of apostolic brother- 
hood elastic enough to embrace all regenerate be- 



260 Immersion and Its Consequences 

lievers, yet rigid enough to exclude all vital error, 
magnifying the great essentials and yet allowing lib- 
erty upon things not essential. Perhaps the dream is 
not likely to be realized but it is what some of us yearn 
to see actual. . . . No denomination has a mon- 
opoly of truth, and I believe that within this body is 
conserved as large a part of vital Christian doctrine 
and practice as in any other one denomination. . . . 

" Every motive of worldly policy counsels me to 
silence, but loyalty to God, to the truth and to my 
brethren demands utterance whatever consequences 
come to me personally. Moreover, I observe that as 
my spiritual life deepens, these misgivings come more 
to the surface and will not be silenced ; and whatever 
is closely linked to one's own best spiritual states must 
for him be a way of duty. . . . 

" Conscience and truth are revolutionists, and when 
truth as we see it demands testimony, then intrepidity, 
loyalty, intellectual honesty and moral candour must be 
our guides ; and we must be even more anxious to be 
true than to be consistent. In accordance with this 
principle I now commit this matter to God and to my 
brethren. We are bidden to study to show ourselves 
approved unto God alone. However pleasant and pre- 
cious to have the approbation of those we love, there is 
One whose 6 Well done ! ' carries with it eternal bless- 
ing, and to His decision from which there is no appeal 
I am content to submit this Testimony." 

At the time of writing this letter Dr. Pierson was 
not ready to take any radical step that would separate 
him from the Presbyterian Church. Gradually, how- 
ever, he became convinced that, while he could see 
grounds for difference of opinion in the interpretation 



Death of A. J. Gordon 261 



of the Bible teachings, he, himself, would not be per- 
fectly at peace in his own conscience until he had been . 
baptized as a believer. He did not even seek to lead 
his wife and children with him and one daughter just 
before her father's immersion, not knowing that he was 
intending to take the step, wrote to know if he would 
" greatly object " if she decided to be re-baptized. 

In the two years following the Tabernacle ministry, 
Dr. Pierson was much in the companionship of his 
Baptist co-editor on the Review, Dr. A. J. Gordon. 
Together they made many tours and held conventions 
in the interests of missions and for the deepening of 
spiritual life. On more than one occasion he consulted 
with Dr. Gordon on the question of re-baptism and 
once asked him to immerse him. For several reasons, 
however, it was deemed inexpedient at the time and 
was postponed. In February, 1895, Dr. Gordon passed 
away after a brief illness and so the closest link to the 
American Baptist Church was severed. On the day of 
his friend's Home-going Dr. Pierson wrote : 

"Gordon died to-day (February 2d) at midnight 
and the change it makes in my life is unutterable. 
Of all men on this side he was dearest to me, my 
counsellor in everything — no difference of opinion in 
anything important and perfect sympathy of heart and 
action." 

In the summer of 1895, during the sessions of the 
Northfield Bible Conference, a deep spiritual experience 
greatly affected Dr. Pierson's life and thought. This 
is briefly recorded in this private journal under the 
date of August 17th : 

" Praise God no blessing so rich ever came into my 
life. D. L. Moody consulted me about inviting Andrew 



262 Immersion and Its Consequences 



Murray and Webb-Peploe to Northfield and I advised 
him to cable them to come. They came and closed their 
ten days of joint labours day before yesterday. Never 
have I heard such teaching and been so blessed. . . . 
Two addresses moved me beyond anything I ever heard 
— Webb-Peploe and Andrew Murray spoke on ' Faith.' 
Never did I see so clearly my privilege of resting mo- 
ment by moment on the Word of God. I entered that 
day into the consciousness of the rest of faith and 
Thursday night sealed my new consecration in the 
farewell meeting. Henceforth my motto is ' That God 
may be all in all.' " 

Conventions followed in which he joined Andrew 
Murray, speaking at Toronto, Boston, Chicago and 
elsewhere. His deepened spiritual life led him to lay 
somewhat less emphasis on the work of foreign mis- 
sions and more on the spirit of Christ in all life and 
service. 

The British Student Volunteer Convention was called 
to meet in Liverpool for the first five days of January, 
1896, and the committee in charge besought the help 
of their "foster-father." At the same time he was 
invited to hold a series of meetings in British col- 
leges and universities and to visit some of the larger 
cities, with his friend, Rev. F. B. Meyer, to speak on 
the Deepening of Spiritual Life, on Prayer, and on 
Missions. He saw God's hand in the special prepara- 
tion that had recently been given him for this work 
and dedicated himself anew to the proclamation of the 
spiritual truths of the Gospel. 

The way for him to leave home was also clear, for 
his beloved mother, largely on whose account he had 
returned annually to America during his British minis- 



The Ceremony in West Croydon 263 



try, had recently passed away at the ripe age of ninety- 
three. 

He sailed for England on December 22, 1895, and 
after speaking at the Liverpool Conference began his 
spiritual campaign in the British Isles. In the course 
of a few months he expected to visit Bristol and it was 
in his mind to ask his friend, George Muller, (who had - 
passed through a similar change of views on baptism) 
to immerse him at that time. One night after speak- 
ing to students in Wales on immediate obedience to 
the heavenly vision, he became convinced that he, him- 
self, was postponing obedience. He was engaged to 
preach for Dr. James A. Spurgeon in West Croydon 
Chapel, London, on the following Sunday, and so strong 
was his conviction that re-baptism was the way of obedi- 
ence for him that he immediately wrote to him to per- 
form the rite. This was arranged to take place in the 
presence of a few friends on Saturday evening, Feb- 
ruary 1, 1896. No more public ceremony was thought 
advisable lest there should be unnecessary stir created 
among the friends at the Tabernacle ; no more private 
ceremony was desired lest there should seem to be a 
fear of criticism. After preaching at West Croydon 
Chapel on the following Sunday and attending an 
informal reception on Monday Dr. Pierson set out to 
continue his Bible lecture tour in Ireland. 

At first it seemed that his worst fears were to be real- 
ized and that his re-baptism was to be only misunder- 
stood and used to discredit his motives and to hinder his 
ministry. When the statement was made in American 
papers that he had been immersed in order to se- 
cure the London Tabernacle pulpit, his intimate friend, 
Dr. George D. Baker, replied, " If he told me so him- 



Immersion and Its Consequences 



self, I would not believe it." But even Baptist papers 
held his action up for criticism, as is seen in one edi- 
torial insinuation : 

" Why was the interval between Dr. Pierson's con- 
viction of the truth of Baptist views and his baptism 
so prolonged ? Why did he not give his testimony for 
Baptist views in America, his own country, where he 
has for many years practiced and defended infant bap- 
tism ? Why, if he determined to be baptized in this 
country, was he not baptized in public ? Was it wise, 
was it considerate in view of circumstances in the recent 
history of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, to take steps 
which will inevitably be viewed by many as hostile to 
its interests?" 

Thus for the first time in his nearly forty years of 
public life, as he remarked, he was accused of conduct 
and intentions which he considered worthy only of a 
fool or a consummate hypocrite. Although the Metro- 
politan Tabernacle had a settled pastor, whom Dr. 
Pierson earnestly urged his friends to support, it was 
claimed that he was plotting to secure the pulpit. 
Those who knew him denied the charges in vain ; those 
who did not know him listened to newspaper criticisms. 
It seemed at first as though his whole campaign might 
have to be abandoned. Ireland, the home of the boy- 
cott, was especially inclined to boycott his meetings. 
In Dublin there was a noticeable falling off in at- 
tendance although there was no decrease in the 
manifestations of the Spirit's presence. In Cork, the 
arrangements for meetings were entirely cancelled. 

To a sensitive nature like that of Dr. Pierson many 
of the unjust criticisms of those who should have been 
friends were like a searing with a red-hot iron. He 



Under Fire of Criticism 



265 



was convinced that he had done right though he 
conceded that more worldly wisdom might perhaps 
have been exercised in the time and place of perform- 
ance. He was taken ill with cold and bronchial inflam- 
mation that made it difficult for him to keep his 
engagements. For two years he had also been under 
unusual strain owing to the serious illness of his beloved 
wife. For thirty-five years she had shared his bless- 
ings and his hardships, but the continued separation 
from her family, the fire of criticism to which her 
husband was subjected at home and abroad, and the 
constant travel, together with financial worries, at last 
brought on nervous prostration. In the midst of all 
this trial and under these personal attacks Dr. Pierson 
felt convinced that it was Satan who was seeking to 
hinder God's work. He would not give in either to 
physical weakness nor to opposition. He committed his 
cause to God anew, summoned all his energies and 
pressed forward. The result was a series of meetings 
in Belfast which, for spiritual impression, were beyond 
anything he had ever seen. Eev. Charles Inwood, 
who was with him, wrote of this experience : 

" I came to know Dr. Pierson personally in Belfast 

immediately after had assailed him after his 

immersion. He came to us much bruised and sore of 
heart. His mission however was a magnificent success. 
The great Grosvenor Hall, accommodating over 3,000, 
was crowded every night and his address on Foreign 
Missions was by far the most eloquent and soul moving 
missionary address I ever heard. The response and 
affection shown him at that critical hour touched him 
profoundly. His heart, craving always for love, but 
especially then, was refreshed by his Irish brethren. 



266 



Immersion and Its Consequences 



Many features in his character and work have left an 
indelible and sacred impression on me — his knowledge, 
his gifts, his warm and guileless love, his holy and 
blazing indignation where the honour of his Lord and 
His Word were at stake, his sympathetic and careful 
preparation for his public ministry and his love of 
prayer and childlike dependence on the Holy Spirit. 
Most of all I was impressed with his absolute abandon- 
ment of his whole personality to the ministry of the 
moment ; every cubic inch of his being was in every 
message, in every sentence, in every word, every tone, 
every look as he spoke." 

The committee in charge of the tour deemed it 
advisable for Dr. Piersou to publish some reply to the 
criticisms that had been passed, and although it was his 
rule to leave his personal reputation and vindication in 
the hands of God, he finally consented to make to these 
friends a statement that might prevent further mis- 
understanding. From this statement we quote : 

"Without reflecting upon any one, let me most 
explicitly state that, in some way, there has arisen a 
singular and complete misapprehension, both of my 
words and spirit, which further silence on my part 
might seem to sanction. . . . 

" My recent baptism at Croydon Chapel had refer- 
ence simply and solely to one thing : my individual 
compliance with a duty never until very lately made 
. entirely clear, as needful on my part in order 4 to 
fulfill all righteousness.' . . . 

" The address, which has been so criticized, was 
wholly informal and unstudied. Some sentences were, 
I frankly concede, open to misapprehension, and should 
have been more guarded. An unsuspecting man may 
often give occasion to others for ascribing to him a 



Experience in Ireland 



267 



purpose and meaning which he does not for a moment 
intend. ... I was inciting disciples to appreciate 
the power of united prayer to bring down ever-increas- 
ing blessing of the Holy Spirit. 

" I have not the least intention or thought of again 
taking any pastoral charge. The impression grows 
upon me that God is calling me to a different and, in a 
sense, wider work that would rather be hindered by 
such limitations. I cannot but add my sincere regret 
for whatever controversy I may innocently or impru- 
dently have occasioned. 

"Dublin,, Ireland, Feb. %6, 1896." 

The lesson that he himself learned from this experi- 
ence is referred to in a letter to his friend Benjamin 
Greenwood : 

" God has been teaching me one of the greatest les- 
sons of my life — that I am beset with foes and that 
not only my temper but my tongue must be in His 
dear keeping. At West Croydon, I spoke as though in 
your parlour where I could not be misunderstood, but 
the very words I intended to say to strengthen the 
hands of my brother at the Tabernacle were misinter- 
preted. ... I feel my own blundering more than 
my own worst foes could wish." 

Meanwhile God continued to set His seal of approval 
on His servant's ministry in the British Isles. A pastor 
in Ireland wrote to the Irish Baptist Magazine, April 
6, 1896 : 

"When it became known that Dr. Pierson had 
crossed the Kubicon and burned his boats by immer- 
sion [ ! ] it was a matter of speculation how his change 
of front would affect his Irish audiences. ... In 
Dublin the galleries were not required and the attend- 



268 Immersion and Its Consequences 

ance of the clergy was sparse. But it would have 
done your heart good to have witnessed the delight in 
believers' eyes as they sat spellbound, drinking in the 
teachings as the Doctor made clear the philosophy of 
the plan of salvation — God's loving and beseeching 
men that by the Gospel of His grace man might be 
restored, in whom the image of God had been ' defaced 
but not effaced.' His address on the Inspiration of 
the Bible was simply exquisite and the faith of be- 
lievers increased by leaps and bounds as they listened 
while he showed the rock foundation on which it 
rested." 

But it was not in Great Britain alone that he was to 
suffer from misunderstanding and attack. The Amer- 
ican papers took up the subject and while some, like 
The Outlook, said that " No one who knows Dr. Pier- 
son will doubt that he has taken the step conscien- 
tiously or can intimate that it was because of any 
ulterior or selfish motive," other papers severely took to 
task the man whom they had formerly applauded. 
The Philadelphia Presbytery deemed it advisable to 
request his resignation on account of his position on 
infant baptism. He, himself, had no wish to leave the 
Presbyterian ranks but the Presbytery took the follow- 
ing action on April 6, 1896 : 

"Kesolved that the Stated Clerk be instructed to 
acknowledge the receipt of Dr. Pierson's communica- 
tion and inform him 

" (1) That, holding his present views on baptism he 
could not continue an acceptable minister in the Pres- 
byterian Church which teaches that baptism, in accord- 
ance with Scripture, is rightly administered by affusion 
or sprinkling and that infants of such as are members 
of the visible church are to be baptized. 



The Philadelphia Presbytery 269 



" (2) That whatever Dr. Pierson may have meant 
to the contrary, this Presbytery is clearly of the opin- 
ion that a change of denomination is demanded by his 
immersion, by the views expressed in his letter and by 
the proprieties of the situation. 

" (3) That we therefore advise Dr. Pierson promptly 
to seek admission into some denomination most in sym- 
pathy with his convictions on baptism. . . . 

" We testify to our continued confidence in Dr. Pier- 
son's piety, zeal and ability as a minister of the Gos- 
pel. 

" W. M. Kice, Stated Clerk:' 

As a result of this action Dr. Pierson's name was 
dropped from the roll of the Presbytery and he never 
again joined any ecclesiastical body. His convictions 
were unchanged as to the general doctrines and system 
of government of the Presbyterian Church, and while 
he agreed with his Baptist brethren in many respects, 
he could not accept their position in excluding from 
church-membership and from the Lord's Table any re- 
generated believers in Christ who differed from them 
on the subject of the Scriptural teaching on baptism. 
In a reply to the Philadelphia Presbytery (dated May 
20th) Dr. Pierson said : 

" I can only say that to submit myself to baptism as 
a believer had come to be a condition of my peace and 
of unclouded fellowship with Grod. . . . My obe- 
dience [to this gradually growing conviction] was not 
immediate for I was ensnared by questions of expe- 
diency. ... I foresaw that my baptism might 
mean not only denominational alienation but exclusion, 
loss of popular favour and possibly hindrance to serv- 
ice. I did not foresee to what extent it would entail 
misrepresentation, accusation and even persecution ; 



270 Immersion and Its Consequences 



that it would be construed as a sign of vacillation and 
inconsistency and even weakness of mind and un worthi- 
ness of motive. It must, however, be my solace that 
whatever discord it might create in human relations it 
has brought conscious harmony with God, consistency 
with the gospel teaching and practice and liberty to 
preach a full gospel message. . . . 

" ~No doubt some former friends will forsake me, but 
if so I can only affirm that my sole desire is to be loyal 
to Christ. It must be obvious that no man at my age 
is likely to take such a step until what was gain to him 
he counts loss for Christ. . . . Had I this action 
to take again I would only do it more promptly, for in 
the nature of the case my only motive could be a de- 
sire ' to fulfill all righteousness.' " 

With less courtesy and consideration on both sides, 
this difference of opinion between Dr. Pierson and the 
Presbyterian Church might have caused bitterness and 
have brought discredit on the name and cause of Christ. 
For some years many Presbyterian pulpits seemed 
closed to the man who had served so long and so effect- 
ively in those ranks, but later there was scarcely any 
Christian pulpit where he was not welcomed. 

It was some years before the misunderstanding of 
his motives was obliterated in the minds of some con- 
nected with the Metropolitan Tabernacle. It was there- 
fore with much gratitude and depth of feeling that he 
was able to write to his family thirteen years later 
(July 7, 1909) : 

" My Beloved Children : 

" On Sunday, July 4th, I had what was perhaps the 
most conspicuously blessed Sunday of my life. You 
will remember that after my first year at the Taber- 
nacle misunderstanding sprang up for which I was not 



Last Sunday at The Tabernacle 



271 



to blame. . . . For sixteen years I have been pray- 
ing that this might be overcome and banished. I have 
tried to keep still, to say nothing, and do nothing but 
commit it to God. After all these years, the prayer 
has been most abundantly and wonderfully answered 
in a unanimous invitation from the pastor and officers 
of the Tabernacle to conduct the services there on Sun- 
day, July 4th. 

" The day was magnificent, the audience great and 
the enthusiasm overwhelming. ... I preached in 
the morning on 'Love' from 1 John iv. 7-21, and in 
the evening from Hebrews x. 9 on the words ' He 
taketh away the first that he may establish the Second.' 
This key verse to the Epistles to the Hebrews relates 
to things that have been displaced, (1) The old covenant 
by the new, (2) The old Testament law by the New 
Testament Gospel. 

" It was so plain that the Holy Spirit was moving 
mightily that I felt led to put the test to the congrega- 
tion. When those who were willing to take salvation 
as offered in the Gospel were asked to rise, a few stood 
up at first, then more followed until in the vast au- 
dience not one person remained sitting. The emotion 
was intense. The officers afterwards approached me 
with reference to holding a series of services in the 
building. I want you to know how our prayers for all 
these years have been answered." 

It was indeed a sign of the loving graciousness of 
God that on his last visit to Great Britain the last 
vestige of misunderstanding should be removed and 
the warmth of loving confidence restored between Dr. 
Pierson and all those to whom he had so faithfully 
ministered at the Metropolitan Tabernacle. 



i 



XV 

LATER BRITISH MINISTRIES— SPIRITUAL 

REINFORCEMENT 

IN the crucible of physical affliction many men 
have had their characters refined and their spirit- 
ual vision clarified. This was true of Dr. Pierson. 
The last fourteen years of his life were years of 
almost constant suffering. In January, 1897, when 
he was sixty years of age his head and ears be- 
gan to trouble him so as to interfere consider- 
ably with his hearing and continuous mental work. 
Through association with George Muller and others the 
thought of God as his physician had taken great hold 
upon his mind and he determined to take this ailment 
to God in prayer without recourse to medical treat- 
ment. On five or six occasions his suffering was so 
severe that he started to consult a specialist but stopped 
and turned back before reaching the door. He had 
many warm friends among physicians and greatly 
honoured them and their profession so that he did 
not, on ordinary occasions, refuse the use of medicine, 
but at this time it seemed to him that God was testing 
his faith. In Boston, on January 25th, he consulted a 
physician who said that he evidently had inflammation 
of the inner ear and advised him at once to consult 
an aurist. Instead he determined to leave his case in 
the hands of God and exactly one month later all 
trouble disappeared. Upon a second examination the 

272 



Views on Divine Healing 



273 



same physician found his ears in a perfectly normal 
condition. The trouble never returned. 

This was Dr. Pierson's first marked experience of 
divine healing and he came more and more in his 
later years to depend on God to give him physical 
strength. Not that he condemned the use of medi- 
cine or surgery, nor did he believe it to be the duty 
of all Christians to depend on God alone to heal 
bodily diseases. His great emphasis was on man's 
duty to study the laws relating to physical and spirit- 
ual health and to submit body, mind and spirit en- 
tirely to God. His convictions on the subject he 
briefly formulated as follows : 

1. Disease is one of the consequences of sin — of 
broken physical and spiritual laws. 

2. Healing power is primarily in the hands of God. 

3. God can heal and often does heal without the use 
of medical remedies. 

4. God more often heals through the remedies that 
He has provided in nature and which He has enabled 
man to discover. 

5. It is the Christians' duty to care for their bodies 
by the observance of God's physical, moral and spir- 
itual laws. 

6. In case of illness Christians should first of all put 
themselves in the hands of God to learn the lessons 
that He would teach them and then, either with or 
without the use of means as He directs, they should 
seek recovery that they may regain full power to serve. 

7. If healing is granted, give praise to God and de- 
vote renewed strength more earnestly to the doing of 
His will. If healing is withheld still glorify Him in 
body and spirit, by life or by death. The way in which 
suffering and sickness are borne may be even stronger 
testimony than would come through the recovery of 
health. 



274 



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j In his later, as well as in his earlier years, he fre- 
quently sought and adopted the advice of godly phy- 
sicians, but more and more his main dependence was on 
believing prayer. Often after hours of suffering he 
would rise in the night and alone, or with his beloved 
wife, would plead with God that physical infirmity 
might not interfere with service and that the Adversary 
might not gain the victory — as Moses pleaded, " lest the 
Egyptians hear of it and rejoice." Many answers to 
these prayers are recorded in his private diaries. Sev- 
eral times also Christian friends met at his bedside and 
anointed him for healing according to the Scriptures. 

God was ever present to Dr. Pierson's mind and 
His omnipotence was so real a factor in his concep- 
tions of life that it was most natural for him to ex- 
pect divine interposition in man's behalf. In a power- 
ful address at one of the Mildmay Bible conferences in 
London, he said : "I say to you with the solemnity 
of a dying man that no man has ever yet laid hold on 
the Supernatural Power of God as it is possible to lay 
hold on that power. God's great plan for human life 
is that the Holy Spirit, entering into man's spirit, shall 
transform man's convictions, his emotions, his sensibili- 
ties, his resolutions and even his body. ... I do 
not say that all disease is a direct result of sin but I am 
bold to say that we know very little of what the Power 
of God means in transforming disposition and intellect 
and conduct, and we have still less conception of what 
blessing might come even to the bodies of saints, if with 
apostolic faith, apostolic power returned to the Church." 

But the severest trials to faith were yet to come. On 
December 13th of the same year (1897) Dr. Pierson was 
seized with a sudden attack of acute inflammation of the 



Physical Infirmities 



2 75 



bladder and for six months suffered almost constantly. 
Physicians could apparently give no relief and for the 
first time in his life he was confined to his home al- 
most continuously for several weeks. Still he kept at 
work and frequently rose from his bed of illness to 
keep preaching engagements. Physicians told him 
frankly that his active service was at an end and that 
he must make up his mind to rest for the remainder of 
his days. But they knew neither their patient nor the 
plans of their patient's God. The next twelve years 
were without doubt the most active and spiritually fruit- 
ful of Dr. Pierson's whole career. As his body weak- 
ened his spirit seemed to grow stronger and more keen 
to discern spiritual things. 

Sometimes for months together, during these closing 
years, he appeared to be in almost perfect health, but the 
results of sixty years of strenuous life were seen in the 
gradual breaking down of his physical system. His 
right wrist became stiff and swollen and so continued 
for ten years and yet during this period he wrote con- 
stantly. He seldom had recourse to the services of a 
secretary or stenographer but wrote carefully with his 
own hand his letters, articles for the press and the 
manuscripts of his books — all of which were published 
after he had entered his second half century of life. 

Probably the most important and influential of these 
later volumes was the "Life of George Miiller of 
Bristol," with whom, for twenty years, he had enjoyed 
a most romantic and helpful friendship. The death of 
Mr. Miiller in Bristol, England, in March, 1898, brought . 
a deep sense of loss to Christians everywhere, and was j 
a great blow to Dr. Pierson, who had so recently been » 
consigned by his physicians to the list of the inactive. 



276 



Later British Ministries 



The " Prophet and Patriarch of Bristol," Dr. Pierson 
considered the most remarkable man he had ever met 
and the one who most deeply influenced his life. His 
first introduction to the facts of Mr. Miiller's history 
was, as a young man, when he read a little book en- 
titled "The Life of Trust" by Dr. Francis Wayland. 
This made an impression on him which was deepened a 
few years later, in 1866, on his way home from Europe, 
when he heard a Unitarian clergyman describe his visit 
to Mr. Miiller and the interview which, he said, " was 
like talking with one of God's princes who had seen the 
Almighty face to face." 

In 1878 and 1879 when Mr. Miiller was in America, 
the personal friendship began which was fostered by 
correspondence and by visits in each other's homes in 
Detroit, Philadelphia and later in Bristol. In 1896 Dr. 
Pierson was asked to conduct a " mission " in Bristol 
and enjoyed daily interviews with the venerable 
patriarch then over ninety years of age. Here he 
heard again the wonderful story of the man's early 
life of sin, of his conversion at the age of twenty, of 
his desire to be a missionary, of his ministry in Bristol 
where his church sent out sixty of its members to 
become missionaries. Here he was admitted into the 
sanctuary of Mr. Miiller's private prayer life and saw 
the simplicity and faith in which he lived and laboured. 
He visited the orphanages with their 2,000 boys and 
girls and heard the story of God's provision for every 
need, without any direct appeals for human aid. He 
listened also as Mr. Miiller told of his long missionary 
tours and of the "Scriptural Knowledge Institute" 
which had established mission schools and had scat- 
tered two million copies of the Word of God. At 



George Miiller's Prayer Life 277 



sixty years of age Dr. Pierson was not too old to 
learn and, with humility and an eager thirst after 
knowledge, he listened as Mr. Miiller gave detailed 
testimony to show God as a hearer and answerer of 
prayer. In one of these interviews he asked Mr. 
Miiller if he had ever petitioned God for anything that 
had not been granted. 

" Sixty-two years, three months, five days and two 
hours have passed," replied Mr. Miiller with his 
characteristic exactness, " since I began to pray that 
two men might be converted. I have prayed daily 
for them ever since and as yet neither of them shows 
any signs of turning to God." 

" Do you expect God to convert them ? " 

" Certainly," was the confident reply. " Do you 
think God would lay on His child such a burden for sixty- 
two years if He had no purpose for their conversion ? " 

Not long after Mr. Miiller's death Dr. Pierson was 
again in Bristol, preaching in Bethesda Chapel — the 
meeting place of the Brethren. In the course of his 
sermon he told of this conversation and as he was going 
out at the close of the service a lady stopped him and said : 

" One of those two men, to whom Mr. Miiller referred, 
was my uncle. He was converted and died a few weeks 
ago. The other man was brought to Christ in Dublin." 

While Dr. Pierson was prostrated with illness in his 
Brooklyn home, he heard of the death of Mr. Miiller in 
Bristol and immediately he began to plan a biography. 
On hearing however that an official " Life " was con- 
templated, he wrote with characteristic generosity to 
Mr. James "Wright, the son-in-law and successor of 
Mtiller, that he would gladly transfer his gathered 
material to any author whom the family might select. 



2 7 8 



Later British Ministries 



As a result the request came back that Dr. Pierson 
himself should undertake to prepare the authorized 
biography. 

The commission was accepted and carried out in spite 
of a partially disabled body and amid the pressure of 
many other duties. The author hoped, through the 
book, to perpetuate Mr. Muller's unique testimony to 
God's faithfulness. 1 

The purpose to distribute the biography freely to 
Christian workers was first broached in a meeting of 
the Brethren of Bethesda Chapel, Bristol, before the 
volume had come from the press. Prayer was offered 
for funds, for open channels of distribution and for 
blessing on all those who should read the life. No ap- 
peals were made but enough funds were supplied from 
the author's royalties and from gifts of friends to send 
out thousands of free copies to missionaries and minis- 
ters- all over the world. Many more thousands of copies 
were sold and it was translated into French, Danish, 
"Welsh, Japanese, Dutch, German, Swedish and other 
languages. The seed thus sown has yielded abundant 
harvest. Unnumbered letters from missionaries and 
converts, from missionary societies and Christians in 
the home churches, were a further testimony to God's 
faithfulness as a hearer and answerer of prayer. 

At the first meeting between Dr. Pierson and James 
Wright, the son-in-law and successor to Mr. Muller, 
a curious incident occurred. As they met in his draw- 
ing-room and clasped hands two five-pound notes pressed 
against each other in the interlocked palms. Each had 
been prompted by the same impulse and said almost at 

1 The volume is entitled " The Life of George Muller, Patriarch and 
Prophet of Bristol." 



Marked Answers to Prayer 



279 



the same moment — " It has been laid on my heart to 
ask your acceptance of a small gift in the name of the 
Lord." The strange coincidence amused and touched 
the hearts of both and as each insisted that the other 
retain his gift, both had the joy of giving and of re- 
ceiving at the same time. 

While preparing Mr. Muller's biography, Dr. Pierson 
spent much time in Bristol and preached frequently, as 
he did also in subsequent years, in Bethesda Chapel. 
When Mr. Wright died in 1905 he was requested to 
write the account of that life also. Mr. G. Fred Bergin, 
the present director of the orphanage work, became a 
close friend and has frequently testified to the blessings 
of those ministries among the Brethren and the Bristol 
orphans. 

It was the privilege and joy of Dr. Pierson to receive 
in his own life many answers to prayer, similar to those 
so conspicuous in Mr. Muller's work. Many times he 
records the direct answers for the supply of temporal 
needs as well as for spiritual blessings. In January, 
1896, he lost his only overcoat in New Port, England. 
The weather was raw and he had no funds available 
for a new coat. He made the matter a definite subject 
of prayer, and soon the coat was returned through a 
series of coincidences that plainly showed God's hand 
in the answer. That same week he was led in his early 
morning devotions to lay before God in special prayer 
the financial needs of his family. His bank account 
had been reduced to almost nothing and certain bills 
had come in unexpectedly from America that required 
payment. At breakfast he was handed a letter telling 
of money unexpectedly deposited to his account which 
left a balance of $90.00 beyond immediate needs. 



28o 



Later British Ministries 



In a letter home he wrote : " I have thought that 
perhaps God laid me aside from active service to show 
me that He could care for our temporal wants when 
ordinary sources of income are cut off, as well as when 
I am able to work." 

Another signal answer to prayer came when, a few 
years later, he desired to erect a memorial chapel at 
Nowgong, where his daughter Louise had "fallen 
asleep " after a brief service in India. He wrote to his 
absent children (July 1, 1904) : 

"Ever since dear Louise departed we have felt in- 
clined to rear some little memorial to her at Nowgong. 
Miss Fistler writes that a chapel is very much needed, 
and has sent suggested plans. This makes it seem plain 
that it is God's mind that this should be done, especially 
as there is no money wasted in the plan. I at once 
wrote that we, as a family, would undertake to build 
this little memorial. At family worship that morning 
we put the matter afresh before the Lord, and asked 
that He would give us some evidence that day of His 
approval or disapproval of our plans. I never had a 
more signal answer to prayer. Before night we had 
unexpected gifts sent to us, thank-offerings for the 
Mildmay Meetings, amounting to almost the exact sum 
needed for the building. This will enable us to present 
the chapel entirely furnished. How gracious of God to 
testify so lovingly and clearly to His approval of these 
plans." 

God's bountiful supply never made Dr. Pierson a 
careless steward. Every new talent was received as a 
trust and he was ever studious to avoid waste of time 
or strength or money. Often did he joyfully forego a 
pleasure that he might give to some work which made 
a strong appeal. At one time he had arranged to 



Hilarious Giving 



281 



spend a month with friends in Switzerland but appeals 
for help caused a change of program to a week in the 
Lake District, then further calls led him to take instead 
a day's walking excursion in the suburbs of London. 
Even intimate friends did not know of the many bene- 
factions that flowed through his hand. He delighted 
to be the one to answer the prayers of others, and hun- 
dreds of God's servants have given thanks for timely 
help received through him. One day he was driving 
along a country road near his Northfield home, when 
he met a man trudging along carrying a valise to the rail- 
road station three miles distant. It was out of his way 
but Dr. Pierson invited the man to ride and drove him 
to his destination. In course of conversation he learned 
that the traveller was a minister of a small parish. 
His son was lying very ill and his heart was heavy. 
In parting Dr. Pierson pressed a sum of money into 
the man's hand and in the outburst of thankfulness 
that followed he learned that he had again been God's 
messenger in a time of dire need. 

Unostentatious giving was his delight, for he believed 
in keeping his left hand in ignorance of his right hand's 
generosity. But giving brought to him such hilarious 
enjoyment that his family and more intimate friends 
learned to recognize, by the peculiar elasticity in his 
movements and the particular sparkle in his eye, evi- 
dence of some new benefaction that had brought joy to 
his heart. Neither was his giving confined to times of 
plenty, for he learned to regard the impulse to give to 
a worthy cause as an impulse from his Lord, and he be- 
lieved that the same God who made it possible for him 
to relieve another's extremity would make up any tem- 
porary deficiency caused by his gift. He that " lendeth 



282 



Later British Ministries 



to the Lord " will not long be kept a creditor of the 
Almighty. 

Another scene of Dr. Pierson's British labours was 
the famous auditorium of Exeter Hall, London, where 
for seventy-five years many lecturers on social and re- 
ligious subjects had swayed vast multitudes. Here 
Albert, the Prince Consort, appeared in 1840 on behalf 
of the abolition of the slave trade ; here the first great 
temperance meetings were held and here John B. Grough 
delivered his wonderful orations in 1831 ; here Jenny 
Lind gave her famous concerts. In 1881 Exeter Hall 
became the headquarters of the Young Men's Christian 
Association and in this place twenty-two years later 
Dr. Pierson was introduced by Sir George Williams to 
deliver a series of lectures on the Bible — a series that 
proved to be a noteworthy contribution to Christian 
thought. The first meeting was held in the smaller 
hall for the benefit of two or three hundred young 
men and other Christian workers, but at the second 
meeting the audience of two thousand necessitated 
their adjourning to the larger auditorium and at the 
subsequent lectures the hall was crowded with three 
thousand listeners. Each week they came to hear this 
Bible teacher — one who did not merely extol the 
beauties of the Word, but who so exhibited its wonder- 
ful structure, its divine revelations and its super- 
human power, that his hearers were compelled to ac- 
knowledge for themselves its unique, matchless beauty, 
heavenly wisdom and divine authority. 1 

These lectures, as well as similar series in 1904 and 

1 The three volumes of lectures are entitled " God's Living Oracles," 
" The Bible and Spiritual Criticism," and " The Bible and Spiritual 
Life." 



Teaching by Diagrams 



283 



1907, were delivered with the aid of large charts that 
presented the outlines and doctrinal teachings in origi- 




Goo 
and 
Spiritual 
Things 



Dividing Asunder 



Knowledge 

World 
Without 

and 
Within 

Carnal 



Spiritual insight 
Worship * 
Faith 
Hope 
Love 
Fellowship. 

Reason 
Sensibility 
Conscience 

Morals. 

SOUL. 

Mental visor* 

Perception 

Conception 

Analysis 

Imagination 

Memory 

Reflection 

Natural Affection. 



OF SOUL AND SPIRIT. 



Dividing Asunder. 



of BodyandSoul 



Physical Perception 
BODY. 



Sight 
eye 

GATE 



Smell 



Hearing 
ear 

GATE 



Taste 



Touch 
feel 

GATE 



nal and graphic way so that they were donbly impress- 
ive. The accompanying diagram illustrates the way 
in which eye-gate was used as well as ear-gate. 



284 



Later British Ministries 



The ready ability of the speaker to meet objections 
was shown on more than one occasion. His arguments 
were reasonable but he was unyielding in his conten- 
tion for the authority of the Bible. One evening he 
remarked that no one claimed verbal inspiration for 
the English Bible — although that was remarkably ac- 
curate — but only for the text of the original writings. 

" Then," exclaimed a gentleman rising in the front 
seat, " if we cannot read the original we might as well 
have no inspired Bible at all." 

" Well," replied the lecturer quickly, " my daughter, 
who is a missionary in Japan, recently sent me a photo- 
graph of her child whom I have never seen. No doubt 
it is not a perfect likeness. Do you suppose that I 
said, as I looked upon it, that is not the original and 
therefore I might as well have no grandchild at all ? " 

The testimonies to the results of these lectures came 
from far and near. A Londoner said that as he came 
home in the train one evening a porter sat down next 
to him and after a little asked if he was " on the Lord's 
side." The porter added that the lecture in Exeter 
Hall on Wednesday had led him to confess Jesus as 
Lord and to own Him as His Saviour. 

Dr. Pierson himself wrote home to his son that he 
had never seen God work so manifestly and constantly. 
" It humbles me," he said, " that I am only now learn- 
ing how to stand out of the way and let God work." 

It is not possible here to give in full Dr. Pierson's 
method of Bible study. His main dependence was on 
the Scriptures themselves. 1 He studied them in the 
original and with the help of a few select commentaries 

1 Some results of fifty years of Bible study are gathered in Dr. Pier- 
sou's " Knowing the Scriptures." 



Rules for Bible Study 



285 



to discover, if possible, the mind of God. He gathered 
light from all sources and brought the many rays to 
a focus in his own mind that he might give out that 
light to others. Such volumes as " The Speaker's (or 
Bible) Commentary," Saphir's " Divine Unity of Scrip- 
tures," Bernard's " Central Teaching of Jesus Christ," 
Saphir's, Murray's and Moule's expositions of the " Epis- 
tle to the Hebrews," Graham on Ephesians and other 
studies occupied shelves within easy reach. On one 
occasion when speaking on a difficult passage in the 
Book of Kevelation he said," No preacher can hope to 
understand this chapter unless he has read the book a 
thousand times ; this I have done, and I know that I 
have not yet fathomed its full meaning." 

Six rules for Bible study he gave to those who would 
enter into the deeper secrets of the Book. 

" No book on philosophy or science or poetry or his- 
tory needs these rules, but without them no one can 
penetrate into the real meaning of the Bible. 

" 1. Search. The wonders do not lie on the surface, 
like shells on the beach, but are hidden, like nuggets in 
veins, and must be dug up. 

" 2. Meditate. There is a process akin to rumination, 
which, as you dwell on the Scriptures, draws from them 
life power. Without such meditation, reading is like 
eating that which you do not digest. 

" 3. Compare. There is no error on earth which 
may not find apparent support from some isolated text, 
but no error in doctrine or practice can stand the test 
of the whole Scripture. We must compare Scripture 
with Scripture so that one passage may interpret an- 
other or may correct the false impression gained from 
another. 

" 4. Pray. 1 Open Thou mine eyes that I may be- 
hold wondrous things out of Thy law.' The Spirit 



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who inspired must be the Spirit to expound. Prayer 
is the illuming secret to the intellectual eye. 

"5. Believe. In all other departments men believe 
what they know but in the divine revelation men come 
to know what they believe. Faith must accept God's 
Word in order to be confirmed in knowledge. As 
Isaiah said to Ahag : i If you will not believe, surely 
ye shall not be established ' — confirmed in knowledge. 

" 6. Obey. We can never learn the second lesson from 
God until we have practiced the first. ' If any man 
willeth to do His will he shall know of the teaching.' 
Doubt is usually the result of disobedience. When you 
see a command in the Bible, translate it into conduct 
and character. Obey what God teaches and He will 
lead you into larger knowledge. 

" Thus by searching and meditating, by comparing 
and praying, by believing and obeying, we are enabled 
to see in this Book its Divine Author, we discover 
the remedy for man's depraved state and nature and 
we come to the deep knowledge of the mysteries of 
God." 

The Bibles which he used for study were marked 
and annotated in a way that showed scrupulous neat- 
ness and diligent research. Prebendary Webb-Peploe 
says : " As I sat on the platform at the Northfield 
Conference with Dr. Pierson I could not fail to be struck 
with the extraordinary appearance of his broad mar- 
gined Bible. Such a sight I had never seen as that 
book, interlined, marked with references, notes and other 
signs of deep and thoughtful study." 

The joy he found in " discoveries " was only second 
to the joy of sharing these new found treasures with 
others. Whether his audience was made up of one in- 
terested listener, or was a group of old ladies, or was a 
vast crowd in Exeter Hall, at Mildmay, or at some 



THf. OLDS OWC ho q Od_ C «K/-Tt)f?_ ^tVCT*«V wrvw^OT^H is c lory, plfo wct WV4 



JywbuSWJa and ten horns, and 



KEVELATIOff, XIV. Mission of the Ang%t' n ** *»"« to »^"5 5 



crowns, and upon liis 
blasphemy. SKi/v 



TKic«»wrt-a»v^hi?h I saw was* hke 
qe*\&T-$I. feet were as the 
(ferenOiU «-^ 8 mouth as the mouth 
7mtOw«>h, draoen/' gaire him his 
fttm*c**ris? ana great authority, 
oun *wwevi>f his heads, as it were 
fiffiSfkl-F*. % deadly 



0"C5- durw 



^ and all the wonld 

<i ^" T * ArW °trshipped the dragon 
S<krY\<-*a^\*q nnto the beast: and 



Ctmb RUJAjfrea* things and blas- 
r ""fr was given unto him 
Mos«s( i,i d two months. 
_ „ T,d his mouth in folas- 

^^STwH *«> blaspheme his 
TC^K|Ba^.-and them; that" 

■\y\ta- 



^™t[f n unto him to mate 
xtwTi<m<S^ s . ft ?d to overcome 
v/hoUwO*™* 8 ei yen mm 0Ter 



es, and nations, 
'ell upon the earth shall 
Kty^attdyh! names are not writ- 
^4*UjrV<rwJ , u f e of tho Lamb slain 
'n of the world. 
.; an ca', let him hear. 
Cj-.TimtTHnith into captivity shall 
~ he' that fciltech 'with 

killed with the sword. 
b£ and the faith of the 



Two Wi V-rt«^otAV>t WMoUi.ACr. "%Jf- 
( C<tntfH| another* beast coming 
Sflm.v-'S OUYcii and he had two horns 
1 brcwpake as a dragon. 
v ' fiseth all the power of 



Jb him, and causcth the 
, (/ . '^"Ihich dwell therein to 
I beast, whose deadly 

^ C1 * um jgreat wonders'," so that 
mo down from heaven 
sight of men, 

, „. ,. *< Jli them that dwell on 

Wi 0" those, miracles 

S^tSift' ^ do in the sight of 
y0 0Crry ^% them that dweU on 
f should make an image 
|i had the* wound by a 

StV£rA - H A/ower to give e life unto 
SrV6Nth Vieasfc, that the image of 
^ ~ Jboth speak, and cause 
C]fCaTy»TB«}ould not worship' the 
rTiK&po^ thould be killed. jJcn. sr 
;th all, both small and 
ior, free and bond, to 
their right .hand, on in 

t jpah might buy or selL 

O »y Km <k mark, or the name of 
^^f^^mber" of his name. 
I XI* if- tt. m Let him that hath 
' W«itfc-£wK a t the number of the 
V?a^u<"pT5mT<umber of a man ; and his 
KmaArvntfrared threescore and six,. 

- id, lo , a Lamb" stood on 
ittThmi an bundred 



usand.* having his Fa- 
i in their foreheads, 
voice from heavon, as 



A.D. 96. 



a chap. 12. 3. 
17.3,9,12. 

* chap. 19. 6. 
(3 or, names. 
«ch. 5. 8, 9. 
<*Da.7. 4. .7. 
< chap. 15. 3. 
/chap. 12. 9. 
f verse 1. 

A chap. 16. 10. 
y slain. 
iCa. 1.3. 

6. 8. 
2 Co. 11. 2. 

* chap. 17. 8. 
'Jno.10.27. 
5 bought, 

ICo. 6. 20. 
m Ja. 1. 18. 
n chap. 17. 14. 
o Vs. 32. 2. 
pEp. 5. 27. 

Jude 24. 
J Da. 7. 8, 11, 
25. 
' 11. 36. 
r2Sa. 23. 5. 

Js. 49. 8. 
£ or, ffloia 

war. 

* ch.11.2, 3. 

12. 6. 
<Ep.3.9. 
« Col. 2. 9. 

He.9.11,24. 
» He. 12. 22, 
23. 

"chap. 15. 4. 

* chap. 11. 7. 

}2.17. 
Da. 7. 21. 
irlm. 4. 6. 

* ch. 18. 2, 3. 
Is. 21. 9. 
Je. 51. 7, 8. 

« chap. 21. 27. 

Da. 12. 1. 
» chap. 17. 8. 
c Is. 33. 1. 
<*'ch.l3.14..16 
*Ge. 9. 6. 
/He. 6. 12. 
if Pa. 75. 8. 
A chap. 11.7. 
■ chap. 19. 20. 
*Is.34. 10. 
'verso 3. 
mls.57.20,21. 
»Mat. 24. 24. 

2Th.2.9,10. 
olTh.4.14,16 
>j or, from 

henceforth 

saiththe 

Spirit, Yea 
pver. 3, 12. 
9 breath. 
«Eze. 1.26. 
. Da ; 7. 13. 
r chap. 16. 2. 
k give tliem. 

* Joel 3. 13. 
*Je. 51. 33. 

Mat. 13. 39, 
X or, dried. 
« chap. 15. 2. 
v chap. 5. 12. 
» ohap. 7, 4. 

* verse 15. ' 
y chap. 3. 12. 



the voice* of many waters, and as the' voice 

of a great thunder : and I heard tho voice „ 

of harpers' harping with their harps : the. mwSoh&-V:^. 

3 And they e<tag as ifa^were a acw«Song CWW^).iO. * 
before the -throne, and. before the tour Vc.uLr^<W+^4 fW«s. 
beasts, and the elders: and no man could -^fe 5 - 1 ^" - , iV/ll u. 
learn that song but the' hundred and^A.T^T^\ 
forty and four thousand, which were re- f < a ^«""< t,Snltl - 



dceiwed from the eart h. 

4 These are they which were not defiled Virj'f^VfUnW 
with women : for thev are Virrim.* Theso • * 



183 



with women ; for they are 1 

are they which follow' the Lamb whither- Wi»*UmV. ^ •> 
soever he goeth., THese were 4 redeemed F«»vFr\**v>vn o.i. ^ 
from among men, being tho firstfruits ' " 
unto God and to the Lamb. 

5 And in their mouth was found no quA^^^F*" 1 "*** 
guile: for they are without * fault be- 
fore the throne of God. -— 3L 

6 And I saw another angel fly in tho 
midst of heaven, having the r everlasting 
gospel to preaoh unto them that dwell 
on the earth, and to every* nation, and 
kindred, and tongue, and people! 

7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, 
and give glory to him ; for " the hour of 
his judgment is come : and worship him 
that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, 
and the fountains of waters. 

8 And there followed another angel, say- 
ing, Babylon' is fallen, is fallen, that great 
city, because sho made all nations drink of 
the wine of the wrath of her fornication. 

9 And the third angel followed them, 
saying with a loud voice,_ If d any man wor- 
ship the beast and his image, and receive 
his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, ' 

10 The same shall drink' of the wine 
of the wrath of G6d, which is poured out 
without mixture into the cup of his in- 
dignation; and he shall be tormented 
with fire* and brimstone in the presence 
of the holy angels, and in the presence of 
the Lamb : 

11 And the smoke* of their torment as* 
cendeth up for ever and ever: and they 
have no rest™ day nor night, who worship 
the beast and his image, and whosoever 
receiveth the mark of his name. 

12 Here is the patience of tho saints? 
here ara they that keep the command- 
ments of God, and the faith of Jesus. 

13 And I heard a voice from heaven, 
saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the 
dead which die* in the L«rd ifttsm hence- 
forth : Yea, saith the Spirit, that they 

may rest from their labours; and their M«VM»v$ty7io. v\ .tO 
works do follow them. L«n/ttXX,3X ^vi KeX VI .1-13. 

14 And I looked, and behold a white Koiros vs £fyowi 
cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like * 

unto the Son of man, having on hiB head a 
golden crown, and in his hand a sharp 
sickle. . 

15 And another angel came out of tho 
temple, crying with a loud voice to him 
that sat on the clqud, Thrust' in thy sickle, 
and reap : for the time is come for thee to 
reap ; for the harvest* of the earth is ^ripe. 
■ f 16 And he that sat on the cloud l&rust 
in his sickle on the earth; and the earth 
was reaped. 

17 And another angel came out bf the 
temple which is in heaven, he also havinp. 
a sharp sickle. 

18 And another angel came out from the 
altar, which had power over fire; and 
cried with aloud cry, to him that had the 
sharp sickle, saying," Thrust in thy sharp 
sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine 
of the earth ; tor her grape3-aro fully ripo, 




TWO PAGES FROM ONE OF DR. PIERSON'S ANNOTATED BIBLES 



The Keswick Conventions 



other convention, his enthusiasm was equally great if 
only his hearers were ready to see and believe the 
Word. 

One of the most charming spots in the English Lake 
District is the town of Keswick on the shores of Der- 
wentwater. Here for many years, in the last week of 
July, Christians have gathered to receive religious 
refreshment, and hither came Dr. Pierson in almost an- 
nual pilgrimages during the last thirteen years of his 
life to receive and to give reinforcement for spiritual 
life. He had become familiar with " Keswick Teach- 
ing," as it is commonly called, before he ever visited 
Keswick. In the year 1895 he had learned from ex- 
perience the purpose and power of God to transform 
character and to give victory over every known sin. 
Then he was asked to attend a series of Keswick 
meetings in London in 1896 and the following year 
was invited to address the Keswick Convention. 

Keswick teaching consists in definite progressive 
steps, from sin to sanctity. The basis of the move- 
ment is a conviction that the average Christian is too 
often without the experience of real spiritual power ; 
that the average Christian life is worldly, and that it is 
the duty and privilege of every child of God to enter 
at once into " Newness of Life " and to walk in the 
power of the Eisen Christ. 

Six definite steps are presented at Keswick by the 
various speakers on six successive days: Monday — 
General preparation by a view of the sinfulness of sin ; 
Tuesday — Dealing with sin ; Wednesday — The keeping 
power of Christ ; Thursday — Joy and rest in God ; 
Friday — Power for service ; Saturday — Missions. The 



288 



Later British Ministries 



steps are more fully described by Dr. Pierson as fol- 
lows : 

First : A searching of the heart through God's illumina- 
tion, to reveal its secrets. This revelation to be 
followed by instant abandonment of every known 
sin and of every weight that hinders holy living 
(Ephesians iv. 22-24 ; Eomans vi. 11-13 ; Hebrews 
xii. 1, 2). 

Second: The death of self in every form. 

1. Self-trust (Komans x. 1, 2). 

2. Self-reliance (John xv. 4-6). 

3. Self-will (James iv. 13, 15). 

4. Self-seeking (Matthew xvi. 24, 25). 

5. Self -pleasing (Galatians vi. 14). 

6. Self-defense (1 Peter ii. 19-23 ; iii. 16). 

7. Self-glorification (Galatians vi. 14). 

Third : The absolute surrender of the will unto God 

in obedience. " No man can serve two masters." 
Fourth : The believer filled with the Spirit — claimed 
by faith — apart from feeling (Komans iv. 21). 



1. Sealed by the Spirit (Ephesians i. 13, 14). 

2. Empowered by the Spirit (Acts i. 8). 

3. Filled by the Spirit for teaching and service 
(Colossians iii. 16 ; 1 John ii. 2). 

Fifth : Experience of the revelation of Jesus Christ as 
an indwelling presence (Matthew xxviii. 20 ; John 
xiv. 17, 23 ; Galatians i. 6 ; Hebrews xi. 17). 

Sixth: Enjoyment of the privileges and victories of 
the higher and deeper Christian life. 

1. The rest of faith (1 Komans v. 1, 2 ; Hebrews 
iii. 7-iv. 11). 

2. Power over sin (1 Corinthians xv. 56, 57 ; Ko- 
mans vi. 4 ; viii. 2). 

3. Passion for souls (Komans ix. 1, 2). 

4. Conscious fellowship with God (1 John i. 3). 

5. Prevailing prayer (John xv. 7 ; James v. 16, 
18 ; 1 John v. 14, 15). 




First Visit to Keswick 



289 



No speaker is asked to take part in a Keswick con- 
vention unless he can testify to a conscious experience 
as a result of taking the steps indicated. 

After-meetings are held each day but only for in- 
quirers. At this session there are many sharp thrusts 
and many wounds, but the healing balm is applied by 
the same faithful hands and life comes out of death. 

At the first visit of Dr. Pierson to Keswick he told 
of the way in which he had been led into the life of vic- 
tory and blessing. It was no small humiliation to this 
man sixty years of age, who had, for forty years, been 
a leading teacher and preacher, to stand before that 
large assembly and unflinchingly confess his sins of im- 
patience and pride and self-will that had marred his 
usefulness and then to describe how God had shown him 
his weaknesses and at the same time had revealed the 
divine source of strength. Rev. Evan H. Hopkins, in 
describing the scene, says : 

" All hearts went out to him as he told how God had 
searched his heart during the visit of Eev. H. W. Webb- 
Peploe and Andrew Murray at Northfield two years 
before. He told of the new victories that had enriched 
his life and the new power that had marked his service. 
He expressed a desire to be more widely used in pro- 
moting in his own land the line of truth that had been 
so blessed to his own soul." 

Dr. Pierson closed his testimony with an ascription 
of praise to God. The effect was electric and many 
others came forward to say that their way also had 
been cleared of obstacles and they had received new 
inspiration and strength for the conflict. In describing 
the place and the convention he wrote : 

" Keswick is unique for its spiritual atmosphere. This 



290 



Later British Ministries 



is, first of all, and all the time, an atmosphere of prayer. 
Prayer is the law of preparation, of continuance, of 
consummation ; quiet waiting before the Lord, and pa- 
tient waiting on the Lord, and for the Lord, is the habit. 
The singing is a feature, but not the feature, and the 
prayer gives even the praise a new quality. Thus the 
atmosphere is fragrant with the Holy Spirit's presence. 
If any speaker indulges in a rhetorical, ambitious flour- 
ish of words, or in some elaborately prepared speech, 
intended for effect, it is like a loud, discordant note in 
a generally subdued and quiet harmony. . . . 

" And never have I seen such entire and engrossing 
pursuit of one thing, and such adaptation of all minor 
matters to the major purpose. There is no published 
program of subjects or of speakers, but a definite order 
is pursued ; and if a Keswick speaker drops in the third 
day, he knows what is the point in the progressive 
unfolding of truth where he is to fit into the general 
impression, and promote it. But above all else was I 
impressed with the Holy Spirit's pervasive presence. 
To see 3,000 people quietly waiting before God in 
silent prayer, and expectant of blessing — singing, pray- 
ing, praising, hearing, simply as those whose attitude 
is that of expectation — was a new experience. I yearn 
to see Keswick practically reproduced in America. 
With all the conventions now existing, there is not one 
that makes such a convention unnecessary." 

After he had been introduced to the sacred fellow- 
ships of Keswick, Dr. Pierson frequently made trips 
across the Atlantic to testify and teach on the conven- 
tion platform. His Bible readings drew large and at- 
tentive audiences. His clear and practical messages 
were always earnest and sometimes solemn but never 



A Spiritual Clinique 



291 



sombre or purely emotional. One series of Bible stud- 
ies which was most helpful was entitled " A Spiritual 
Clinique," in which he diagnosed spiritual diseases and 
prescribed the divine remedies. With a rare evidence 
of a knowledge of medicine this physician of souls 
pointed weak and ailing men and women to the Great 
Physician in whose hands no case is incurable. One 
hearer was so astonished by the profound knowledge of 
medical science shown in the address that he turned to 
a medical man who sat next to him and asked whether 
the speaker could be depended upon as a reliable guide 
in his excursion into the realms of medicine. The re- 
ply was — " Dr. Pierson has as complete a grasp of the 
subject as I myself possess." 

At the convention in 1905 his addresses called forth 
from one Church of England rector the following ex- 
travagant comparison : 

"There was great expectation, united prayer and 
unity as in the days of the apostles. On Friday even- 
ing 3,000 persons were gathered together in one tent. 
Upon these the Holy Spirit fell. The speaker was kept 
from completing his address by the sobs and cries of 
Christians who confessed their failures and sins." 

That occasion was described by Dr. Pierson's own 
pen as follows : 

" In the closing meeting of Friday night, there were 
the most manifest demonstrations and illustrations of 
God's working. Many Christians had focussed their 
prayers largely on this meeting and a company of about 
thirty met by agreement that afternoon for an hour or 
more of prayer. Definite requests were made that the 
Holy Spirit would sweep through the meeting in power, 
setting aside the appointed speakers, if He pleased; 



292 



Later British Ministries 



breaking down souls in cries and tears, bursting through 
all needless restraints of fixed program, leading to bold- 
ness of testimony, keeping down all disorderly ele- 
ments, leading to momentous decisions, inspiring new 
self -dedication, constraining all to remove hindrances 
to holiness and usefulness, and leading some to offer 
themselves for the mission fields of the world. Every 
specific request made that afternoon on the hillside was 
fulfilled to the letter. 

" While Eev. E. W. Moore was giving an address on 
1 Cor. iii. 2-15, on 4 The Ordeal of Fire,' I, who was to 
follow him, felt God's refining fire going through me, 
revealing the wood, hay, and stubble of work and 
motive. So humbling and overwhelming was this con- 
viction, that when called upon to lead in prayer and 
address the meeting, it was quite involuntary first of 
all to make a confession, and ask others, who likewise 
had felt conscious of God's direct dealing, to stand be- 
fore God as those who then and there besought Him, 
to refine us now. In response to that invitation 
practically the whole tent full of people rose as one 
man, and, while prayer was being offered, many joined 
in an audible ' Amen.' Not one word of my proposed 
address was ever delivered, nor was the subject even 
indicated. There was no need of leadership. Another 
and greater One was in control, invisibly present and 
presiding. 

" The prayer was scarcely concluded, when a spirit 
of penitent confession broke out in every quarter, and 
I stood there on my feet for about two hours and -a 
half, witnessing the Holy Spirit's wondrous working. 
A soldier acknowledged desertion and theft, and left 
the tent to write out his confession, and some of us, 




DR. PIERSON SPEAKING IN THE TENT AT KESWICK, ENGLAND 



Keswick Conventions in America 



later on, saw the letters that he had written. A com- 
mander in the navy declared his purpose to make his 
ship a floating bethel. No less than fifty clergymen, 
evangelists and leaders in Christian work, confessed to 
sins of avarice, ambition, appetite, lust of applause, neg- 
lect of the Word, of prayer, of souls ; hundreds of other 
individuals confessed various sins of omission and com- 
mission, sometimes a half dozen or more on their feet at 
once. 

" No improper word was spoken. All was subdued, 
but deep, intense, searching. The meeting might have 
gone on without decline of interest, had not motives of 
expediency and consideration for others prevailed. 
When we closed with old 4 Coronation ' at 10 : 30, there 
had been no disturbance. Penitence, confession, prayer, 
self-surrender, holy resolve, had led up to praise and 
adoration. Then the great throng quietly separated 
with the profound sense that God had visited His 
people." 

On his return to America in 1897, Dr. Pierson con- 
ducted, with Charles Inwood of Belfast, F. B. Meyer 
of London, Dr. Cornelius Woelfkin of Brooklyn, and 
others, similar meetings for the deepening of spiritual 
life. The Keswick method of spiritual reinforcement 
was thus extended to Christians gathered at North- 
field, Boston, Baltimore, Brooklyn, Syracuse, Chicago, 
Toronto, Kochester and elsewhere. After one of these 
meetings a fellow minister approached Dr. Pierson and 
expressed his regret that he had formerly thought the 
speaker cold and unfriendly in his manner. 

"Brother Harris," replied Dr. Pierson, "do you 
know, I am an irascible old man; but what would I he 
if it were not for the Grace of God ! " The secret of 



294 Later British Ministries 

the misunderstanding in this case, however, was that 
Dr. Pierson had a rheumatic right hand and could not 
shake hands cordially. 

His last visit to Keswick, in 1909, was an especially 
memorable time to him, but his friends were grieved to 
see the change that had come over him. While his 
spirit was as keen and enthusiastic as ever, it was obvi- 
ous that his physical strength did not correspond with 
his mental alertness. All who heard him seemed intu- 
itively to realize that he was delivering his valedictory 
addresses amid the beloved surroundings that knew him 
so well. This feeling seemed to be shared by Dr. Pier- 
son himself. 

" There was something infinitely pathetic," wrote a 
friend, " in the personal remarks which he made at the 
close of his first address on ' Foundation Truths in Holy 
Living ' — something that seemed to indicate that the 
long fellowship was about to be broken, and that he 
must not part from his fellow Christians with the least 
shadow of misunderstanding between them. Speaking 
with manifest emotion, he said that before coming to 
the meeting that morning, that he might get right with 
God, he had made confession to God of a sin against 
Him which he would not mention to his audience, as it 
was quite sufficient that he had mentioned it with deep 
penitence to God. But it had occurred to him that he 
had been guilty of a sin to his brethren. 6 In my zeal,' 
he said, ' to be true and genuine and sincere I have long 
neglected the cultivation of winning and attractive 
manners, and, no doubt, have been a stumbling-block to 
many souls ; and I make that confession here this morn- 
ing. We are told to speak the truth in love. Some of 
us may be so zealous for the truth that we forget the 



Public and Private Confessions 



love, or so zealous for the love that we forget the truth ; 
and I want to say that if anything in me has been 
repellent through undue frankness or brusqueness, I 
repent of it before God, and I acknowledge it with sor- 
row to you." 

No one who listened to these words is likely ever to 
forget the effect which they produced, and when, a 
minute later, having made his own confession, he again 
asked any to stand up if the Lord had shown them 
something in their life that must be rectified, God ward 
or man ward, and to take an instant, visible, decisive 
step in the recognition of this fact, a large number rose 
to their feet. 

In the quiet of his own room that night he wrote 
home to his children a letter that reveals the man as 
few knew him : 



" My Beloved Sons and Daughters : 

" Nothing has been made more plain to me since 
leaving home than that in cultivating morals and 
truth in the inward parts I have too much neglected to 
exhibit outwardly a winning manner. I have never 
meant to be abrupt or discourteous but have often im- 
pressed others as unsympathetic and taciturn or even 
cynical it may be. ... I am sure that Truth is 
not to be at the cost of Love and that it is selfishness 
not to restrain the inner feelings from needless ex- 
posure in face and manner. 

" I want to ask forgiveness for any offenses against 
love which I have committed in the home, and to re- 
move all stumbling-blocks out of your way, my beloved 
children. 

" God ? s infinite loveliness grows on me. To an ex- 
tent hitherto unknown every detail has been committed 
to His hands and He has shown Himself marvellously 
faithful. I can only testify and exhort you more and 



296 



Later British Ministries 



more to commit to Him every matter however small 
in perfect trust. Let us be in a very uncommon sense 
wholly given up to Him. Time is short ; eternity is 
long ; and Christ is near. May God keep you on His 
shoulder for supporting strength, on His bosom for 
cherishing love, and cheer you Himself and hold you 
in His embrace. 

" With tenderest love, 

" Father." 

Time would fail to tell of the many other British 
ministries of Dr. Pierson — in Wales and in Christ 
Church, London, in Harcourt Chapel and Westminster 
Chapel, and at many conventions and anniversaries of 
various denominations and societies. British Christians 
found in his sermons and addresses spiritual nourish- 
ment to their taste and he found in British Christians 
true friends and yokefellows. Many of these British 
friends were privileged to come into close fellowship 
with Dr. Pierson. To them he was not only a well- 
known divine and an undaunted crusader but he was 
a genial companion whose fund of information and love 
of good stories made many hours pass delightfully. 
Many were the letters that he wrote in verse to ac- 
knowledge hospitality or gifts. Dr. J. B. Figgis of 
Brighton, whose pulpit he frequently supplied, gives 
an intimate view of his guests and with this we close 
the British reminiscences. 

" I heard him sometimes in my own church, once in 
Bethesda, at Bristol, often on the platform, often in 
' the Tent of Meeting,' but I never heard him that I 
did not come away with some great subject of divine 
truth made clearer to my mind and dearer to my heart. 
As to the Person of God, or Christ, or the Spirit, occa- 



A Friend's Portrait 



297 



sionally there was something left to be desired, but as 
to the divine power, the divine doctrine, and our 
human duty and God's grace to carry it into effect, 
nothing was ever wanting. There was a rich vein of 
Biblical exposition, Scripture compared with Scripture, 
and in between these were such striking illustrations 
as made the truth glow and shine. 

" Our dear friend's coming to Keswick was wonder- 
fully timed in the providence of God. Though by no 
means one of the founders, he was, in these latter years, 
one who much helped to make Keswick. This was 
natural, inasmuch as Keswick had largely helped to 
make him. No doubt his intellectual powers, his giant 
grasp of truth, his energy of expression, would have 
made him remarkable in any period of the Church's 
history; but the mellowing and soul-subduing power 
of sanctirlcation, for which man has no credit, brought 
in traits of character of another and gentler order, and 
without these the other faculties must have been some- 
what rigid, if not stern. 

"His nature was exceedingly sensitive. Before a 
service one dared not speak to him unless he spoke 
to you, and after a service, nine times out of ten, one 
was awed into silence, and so was he. 'This one 
thing ' he did, and everything was sacrified to the one 
thing. I shall never forget how men of the strongest 
nature I ever knew were broken down under his ap- 
peals, and sat in the vestry after the service with the 
tears streaming down their cheeks. 

" Not many knew him well in private. He and his 
wife twice spent two months under my roof. I was 
away resting most of the time ; but it was good to 
hear of the sweetness of the family prayers with the 



298 



Later British Ministries 



servants of my household and with that devoted wife. 
Never was a husband so faithful and interested ; hardly 
a letter was posted or a step taken, my housekeeper 
told me, that he and Mrs. Pierson did not go together. 
One often hears a husband jokingly taunted with leav- 
ing his packing to his wife. Dr. Pierson left neither 
his own nor his wife's but did both himself. He would 
turn to her during family prayers, and ask her thought 
on the passage read, and in other ways show that he 
had learned that great lesson of the New Testament to 
begin first to show piety at home. 

" America sent us the greatest force of modern evan- 
gelism in D. L. Moody, one of the greatest preachers 
of modern times in Henry Ward Beecher, and one of 
the greatest expositors in Arthur T. Pierson, and we 
give God thanks that they came from the Great Ke- 
public beyond the seas as a token and pledge of the 
union of hearts which the statesmen of to-day are 
seeking so graciously to ratify." 




A Believer's Bank-note Designed by Dr. Pierson. 



XYI 



LATER AMERICAN MINISTRIES— RECRUITING 
IN VARIOUS CAMPS 

THE life of an unsettled preacher — unsettled, 
that is, geographically — is by no means an 
easy one. He is continually separated from 
his family and from his books and papers. He must 
travel in all sorts of weather and in all kinds of convey- 
ances ; must endure many discomforts in second or third 
rate hotels ; must forego the conveniences of home and 
many of the joys of neighbourliness. He must be 
ready at all times in sickness and in health to respond 
to calls for service from those who perhaps have not 
the considerateness of friendly parishioners. Some- 
times he is in danger of being " killed by kindness " 
from those who would be too lavish in their bounties 
or too eager to furnish entertainment without rest. 
But the itinerant teacher and evangelist endures all 
hardship submissively or joyfully, according to his 
nature, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. There are at 
the same time many compensations in such a ministry — 
the joys of wide service ; the eager cooperation of local 
committees whose enthusiasm might not survive a 
prolonged pastorate; the many new and priceless 
friendships formed ; the opportunity to repeat the same 
tested messages to many different audiences ; the blessed 
memories to be stored up for future testimony. 

Such were the experiences of Dr. and Mrs. Pierson 
during the last two decades of his life on earth. To- 

299 



300 Later American Ministries 

gether they crossed the Atlantic twenty -six times, the 
American Continent six times and the Pacific Ocean 
twice. In all they travelled not less than one hundred 
and fifty thousand miles — a distance equal to six times 
round the world — on the King's Business. On principle 
they never carried accident insurance, holding that their 
" lives were in God's hands." In 1900 on a journey to 
England to attend a Keswick convention their steamer 
ran into a freight vessel, cutting her in half amidships. 
The Campania's injuries were slight and above the 
water line, but the other ship sank within sight of all, 
and only the captain and thirteen of the crew were 
saved. To the solemn sadness felt at the death of the 
unfortunate sailors was added a deep note of thankful- 
ness when it was learned that the sunken vessel was 
loaded aft with gunpowder and dynamite, and that 
God in His gracious providence had prevented collision 
at a point which would have meant disaster to hundreds. 
Dr. Pierson talked personally to the rescued officer, led 
the meeting of the passengers for prayer and planned 
the practical help for the survivors. He wrote his 
children in America — " I hope you will hold a family 
service, and unitedly thank God for this deliverance. I 
feel doubly pledged thereby to the Lord. Let us more 
than ever be wholly His — and daily and hourly watch 
at His gates to know His will for the day." 

Once on his way home from Rochester in 1905 and 
again on a journey from New York to JSTorthneld, 
Massachusetts, the train on which Dr. Pierson rode was 
partially wrecked, but he suffered no injury. At 
another time when he was returning from a session of 
the Ecumenical Missionary Conference in Carnegie 
Hall, New York, he was crossing lower Broadway in 



Remarkable Deliverances 



301 



company with his friends, Mr. George C. Stebbins and 
Mrs. Waring Stebbins. They were talking earnestly 
of the things of the Kingdom when a swiftly moving 
electric car struck them, throwing Mr. Stebbins to the 
ground, tossing Dr. Pierson to one side and rolling Mrs. 
Stebbins under the front of the car. Those who wit- 
nessed the accident expected to find one or more of the 
party killed and accounted it little short of a miracle 
that all escaped serious injury. A broken tooth was 
Dr. Pierson's only mark of the hazardous experience, 
but in his heart there was another stored up memory 
of the heavenly Father's care. 

" In conferences and conventions oft," might have 
been written over the last twenty years of Dr. Pierson's 
ministry in America. He took no vacations but found 
recreation in a variety of employments. In summer, 
even when the thermometer registered from ninety to 
one hundred degrees, he kept his preaching engage- 
ments in Boston, New York and Philadelphia, some- 
times against the strong advice of physicians. He 
could not be content with idleness and the best tonic 
to his system was an opportunity to witness for God. 
He might be more weary and weak after the effort, but 
he felt again that, in spite of pain, life was worth 
living. Summer and winter lectures in Bible schools 
occupied many months — in the Moody Bible Institute, 
Chicago, and in the Bible Teachers' Training School and 
the National Bible Institute, New York City. 

The letters of testimony received after such addresses 
were varied by objections and criticisms, which at 
times could not but cause a smile at the writer's 
expense. One of these in which humour and pathos are 
mingled read as follows : 



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" Deae Sie : 

" Having heard you several times I want to say 
that your manner of dealing with religious matters is 
so touching that even an infidel like me may be at- 
tracted and even convinced that religion (though on 
the most incredible basis) can become a source of relief 
and peace for a wearied and perplexed soul Last 
Sunday I was so touched that I had the intention to 
declare openly to-day that I will join the Church. But 
unfortunately yesterday heard the awful tirades of Kev. 

and I became a backslider again ! 

" Respectfully yours, 

u 5) 

In no place was Dr. Pierson, during the last years, 
more at home or more helpful and appreciated than in 
the Bedford Presbyterian Church, Brooklyn, of which 
his family were members. Here he was friend and 
adviser to the pastors, Rev. Wm. J. Hutchins and Dr. 
S. Edward Young, and here he gave freely of his 
services and contributed generously to the building of 
chapel and church. His faith and . enthusiasm were 
contagious and inspired the pastors and people with a 
confidence that they could, with God's help and their 
own united efforts, accomplish tasks that had seemed 
impossible. 

He also rendered valuable service in the Fifth Avenue 
Presbyterian Church and in the First Baptist Church of 
New York City ; in Boston and Worcester ; in Philadel- 
phia and Baltimore ; in Detroit, Michigan ; in Toronto, 
Ontario ; and in Dallas, Texas. He addressed conven- 
tions in Atlanta, Georgia, and other Southern centres, 
and on the Pacific Coast in Los Angeles, San Francisco 
and other cities. 

Some ministries to which Dr. Pierson was invited 



The Parliament of Religions 



were not much to his taste. In 1893 he was asked 
to speak at the Parliament of Keligions at the Chicago 
Exposition, but though he held undoubtingly that 
Christianity has nothing to fear from comparison with 
the best of the ethnic faiths, he could not see the 
advantage in giving representatives of false religions 
an opportunity to exploit them before American 
audiences. He foresaw that where theories could not 
be tested by practical results, the one-sided views 
presented would be calculated to do more harm than 
good. While he honoured many of the men who were 
behind the movement he replied in no uncertain 
negative to their invitation to take part in a parlia- 
ment which he believed " would give opportunity for 
the enemies of God to blaspheme." 

At the same time he accepted an invitation to speak 
at the World's Congress of Missions, but not without 
some protest because of the broadness of the platform. 
He found it difficult to fellowship in such a cause with 
those who denied the deity of his Lord or who did not 
believe in the necessity for faith in His Atonement or 
who unduly exalted humanity to the place of practical 
deity. He was convinced that the message they 
carried to heathen lands was not the true Gospel. He 
expressed a dislike to attempting an address on a topic 
assigned by others, since, as he said, " I must feel a 
' burden ' on a subject if my address is to be of any 
power." 

On the opening night of the great Ecumenical 
Conference in Carnegie Music Hall, New York, in 
April, 1900, Dr. Pierson gave a stirring summary of 
" The Superintending Providence of God in Foreign 
Missions." It was a presentation of the evidence of 



304 Later American Ministries 



divine guidance and government in the history of 
missions, a marvel of condensation, that mightily stirred 
the vast assembly. 

At ISorthfield he was also ever a welcome teacher. 
The conferences have grown since the early days of 
1884 and 1885 and to-day include gatherings of young 
men and young women ; and summer schools of Sun- 
day-school workers and missionary students. They be- 
gin in June and continue to October, conferences being 
followed by post conferences. Dr. Pierson sometimes 
jokingly remarked that the " Post-mortem Conferences " 
were usually given into his hands. He also frequently 
conducted the inspiring services of missionary day and 
delivered many notable addresses. In the summers of 
1908 and 1909 he taught a nine o'clock morning Bible 
class in Old Testament history, and drew from one to 
two thousand listeners with Bibles and note-books every 
morning of the conference. There were no indications 
that at seventy-two years of age Dr. Pierson had lost 
any of his power as a Bible expositor. 

The friendship with Mr. D. L. Moody which was 
begun during the Detroit pastorate and was strength- 
ened with early Northn'eld conferences, continued 
during the succeeding years until Mr. Moody was 
suddenly summoned to lay down his work in December, 
1899. One of the last letters written by this servant 
of God to his friend evidences the understanding that 
existed between them. 

" My dear Pierson : 

" I thank you from my heart for your fidelity to 
me. May God bless you for it. I am as anxious as 
you are to maintain the integrity of the Word of God, 



Later Years at Northfield 305 



and for any suggestions you have made to me I thank 
God and you. 

" Always your friend, 

"D. L. Moody." 

At the funeral of this noble Christian evangelist Dr. 
Pierson was greatly impressed with the thought of the 
few short years of service that remained. He remarked 
to his friend John Wanamaker : " You and Moody and 
I were all born in the same year. This dear friend's 
Home-going is a call to us to make the best use of our 
time that is going so fast and to live for God more 
devoutly than ever." 

As to Dr. Pierson's subsequent connection with 
Northfield we quote from William R. Moody, his 
father's successor in the educational and conference 
work centred at Northfield and Mount Hermon. 

" "When in 1899 the responsibilities resulting from the 
passing of the founder of the work at Northfield en- 
tailed duties and demands that were new to me, the 
friendship with Dr. Pierson became closer and to 
his wise counsel on many occasions, as well as to his 
sympathy and prayers, is to be attributed much of the 
continued blessing upon the conferences and schools. 

" Of his ministry at the conferences, both as Bible 
teacher, spiritual guide and missionary zealot, thousands 
can testify. When in 1908 and 1909 he conducted the 
daily Bible class at the Auditorium, the attendance 
was from the first the largest of any day session. 
Nor was the interest abated in any degree, but con- 
tinued throughout the two weeks. When he presented 
some deep spiritual truth his memory of Scripture 
and power in reasoning never failed. 

" But that with which comparatively few are familiar 
was his influence upon the students in the North- 
field schools. It might be expected that with matu- 



306 



Later American Ministries 



rity of thought and experience he would have failed to 
impress young people, but such was not the case. He 
possessed that which is the mark of greatest distinction 
in either a teacher or preacher — he could interest the 
young. To those of us who knew him, it has seemed 
that his lectures and informal chapel talks at the 
Northfield schools represented his best work. There 
was a freedom that was born of a mutual sympathy 
between speaker and audience which was less evident 
in some of the summer conferences. Especially was 
this true at Mount Hermon, where he was loved with 
a warmth unusual among boys for one so many years 
their senior." 

It was among these young men in training for their life- 
work that Dr. Pierson spent some of his happiest hours. 
He recognized an unusual opportunity to inspire them 
for the service of the King of kings and delighted 
to speak to them on such topics as " Mental Habits," 
" Books and Reading," " Missionary Heroes," " The 
Formation of Character " and " The Power of the 
Word of God." Daily in the heat of summer or in 
the brisk cool days of autumn he drove over the river 
five miles and back to give a ten or fifteen minute ad- 
dress at their chapel services, and the students appre- 
ciated it. 

He frequently reminded young men that a truly use- 
ful life begins to be serviceable near its source, and re- 
inforced his statements from his wide knowledge. It 
was thrilling to hear him give a list of the accom- 
plishments of the young men of history. "Yirgil," 
he said, ' 4 stood at the head of the Latin poets, Luther 
led the hosts of the Reformation, and Newton oc- 
cupied the front rank among discoverers, before they 
had reacned the age of thirty. Before twenty-eight, 



Among Mount Hermon Students 



Herodotus had recited his nine books of history at the 
Olympic games, and Hannibal had brought Spain into 
subjection to the arms of Carthage. When twenty- 
five years old, Demosthenes was the golden-mouth 
of Greece, and Cicero the silver-tongue of Kome ! 
Kaphael at the same age was summoned by Julius 
II to adorn, with his immortal paintings, the panels 
of the Vatican, and Galileo nightly viewed the paths of 
the shining fields above in search of undiscovered 
stars ! At the same age Shakespeare stood at the head 
of all dramatic writers ! At twenty-two Alexander 
had overturned the Persian empire, and Napoleon and 
Washington were accomplished generals. Plato was, 
at twenty, the intimate friend and peer of Socrates, 
and called Aristotle, at seventeen, 'the mind of his 
school.' Pascal was a great mathematician at nine- 
teen, and Bacon was no older when he laid the basis of 
his inductive philosophy. At twenty-five, Jonathan 
Edwards and George Whitefield were princes among 
preachers, and at thirty, Jesus Christ was sounding 
forth His Gospel which was to revolutionize the 
world." 

The students loved Dr. Pierson as a father and one 
of the professors expresses the opinion that no man, 
since Mr. D. L. Moody went Home, had so great a hold 
on successive companies of Hermon men. " I shall 
never forget," he says, " the combined faith and grit 
with which he went on, doing better work than ever, 
under such handicaps as neuritis, rheumatism and 
broken ribs. I often wondered whether it was right 
but I always knew and felt that it was magnificent." 

The principal, Prof. Henry F. Cutler, said of 
these Hermon ministries : " Dr. Pierson was an ideal 



308 Later American Ministries 



scholar and an ideal friend. He was on such a familiar 
footing with our boys that they knew and loved him. 
They respected his scholarship. His diction was per- 
fect and his appreciation of literature exact. He 
somehow left the impression that it was possible for 
each one of them to be such a man as he was, and that was 
the blessing to us. When he came on the platform at 
Mount Hermon the boys burst out in an applause which 
could hardly be restrained. When he left they always 
sang a song for him, 6 The Lord bless thee and keep 
thee.' They truly reverenced Dr. Pierson, for he al- 
ways gave them the Gospel. He was to us one of the 
Heroes of Faith." 

At Northfield he was seen by his farmer neighbours 
and trades-people as a man without the barrier of con- 
ventionalities, and they all respected and many loved 
him. They knew that " his word was as good as his 
bond " and that his generosity was unbounded. Even 
those who were at first unfriendly or distant came to 
recognize in him a true brother and friend. 

One characteristic incident was connected with his 
sale of a sandy hilltop within sight of his summer 
home. Dr. Pierson returned from a trip to find the 
barren hillside covered with sod and a pleasing little 
cottage built upon it. With the enthusiasm of a child 
he stood on his veranda and exclaimed, " Wife dear, 
isn't that a transformation ? How we shall enjoy look- 
ing at that pretty hillside now. Let us go over and 

congratulate Brother right away." They not 

only paid the visit but Dr. Pierson insisted upon paying 
back a part of the purchase money on the plea that the 
improvement had added value to his property. 

It was in Northfield too that he was seen in relax- 



Recreation Days 



309 



ation on almost the only furloughs he ever took. Dr. 
Pierson's vocation was the preaching of the Gospel, but 
he had avocations many, and these were his mental and 
physical salvation. He could draw and paint with 
considerable skill, and his touch on piano or organ was 
that of no mean musician. He drew plans for more 
than one building, and with the help of his sons he con- 
structed a small house on the hilltop for prayer and 
quiet study. Carpentering was a delight to him and 
a bench and outfit of tools were installed in every 
house he occupied. But for real abandon, one should 
have seen him on his Northfield farm, coatless, work- 
ing in overalls, with an old straw hat on his head, shod 
with Gibeonitish shoes, and with saw, hammer, rake 
or paint pot in hand, busy with repairs, or gathering in 
the hay. 

No form of summer recreation, however, held quite 
as much charm for him as did a family picnic. The 
days at Northfield were times of reunion for his widely 
scattered brood, which with children and children's 
children sometimes numbered twenty. To pack full 
pails and lunch-baskets into a wagon, with the mother 
and the less robust members of the family, and then 
to walk two or three miles, accompanied by sons and 
grandsons, to some lake or wooded hillside, and there 
to build a fire and eat on the ground, — this meant real 
pleasure for him. He could cook a beefsteak or broil 
a fish to a turn over hot coals, and this privilege he al- 
ways assumed. 

An amusing incident occurred a few years ago at one 
of these family picnics. A place rather nearer to the 
road than usual had been chosen, and Dr. Pierson was 
down on his knees blowing a dying flame into life — ■ 



310 Later American Ministries 



under a swinging kettle of coffee. The sleeves of his 
negligee shirt were rolled up above his elbows, his old 
faded straw hat, which he was using as a fan, was fast 
becoming brimless, and his youngest grandson was 
standing near as an interested observer, when a team 
passed on the other side of the brook. The occupants 
of the carriage stopped, tied their horse, and then came 
nearer for a better view of the scene. Thinking that 
they might wish to picnic also, one member of the 
Pierson family invited them to remain, but they shook 
their heads and stood in ridiculous amazement gazing 
at Dr. Pierson, as they inquired : " Is that really Dr. 
Pierson — the Dr. Pierson whose books we have read ? 
Dr. Pierson, the great preacher who occupied Spur- 
geon's pulpit — is that he there at the fire, cooking a 
meal ? " They declined to come closer and after a time 
drove on — with the pleased consciousness of having 
discovered another side to the character and private 
life of a public man. 

Such discoveries were not infrequently made by those 
who were welcomed into the bosom of Dr. Pierson's 
own family. On other occasions he often felt the 
weight of some responsibility or was aglow with the 
enthusiasm kindled by a great message, but in the 
hours of relaxation — when there was no need to be on 
his guard against misunderstanding or criticism — the 
man himself stood revealed, and to see him was to love 
him. He was ever forgetful of his own convenience 
in private affairs as in public ministries. Many times 
he would walk home, through city streets or along 
country roads, laden with bundles that public men and 
self-conscious youths usually scorn to carry. The same 
earnest simplicity of character that led him to make 



THE NORTHFIELD HOME FROM THE STUDY ON THE HILL 
[An early morning view showing the mist rolling up the valley of the 
Connecticut River] 




OFF DUTY AT NORTHFIELD 
Dr. Pierson with his grandson, Arthur Farrand Pierson 



The Man as a Father 31 1 

public confession of shortcomings led him to be some- 
what indiiferent in the matter of the clothes he wore, 
or the kind of conveyances in which he rode, or the 
lowly character of the service that he performed for 
others. He delighted to help in the work of the home, 
and cared not who saw him carry wood in summer or 
coal in winter. He was equally ready to care for the 
horse, to prepare a dinner or to nurse a sick one — if 
only by so doing he might relieve some one else of a 
burden, might obtain a change of employment for him- 
self or might save money and thereby have more to 
give away. 

It was the Dr. Pierson of the home, more than Dr. 
Pierson the public man, the preacher or the author, 
who moulded the lives of his children and set his im- 
press on his children's children. When the first child 
was born in his Binghamton home, Dr. Pierson's father 
said to him : " My son, in that child is a greater respon- 
sibility than in your whole parish." As the years 
went by, the results of that parental counsel were in- 
creasingly manifest in his family. In these days even 
Christian parents often hesitate to exact strict obedience 
to unwelcome laws and many bring up their children 
more to self-indulgence than to self-denial. In con- 
sequence how many mourn the disgrace and disaster 
brought by wayward sons and daughters. The pre- 
cept and example given by Dr. and Mrs. Pierson led 
every one of their seven children to confess Christ 
publicly before the age of fifteen, and when the time 
came to choose a vocation, each of them selected some 
form of Christian service ; all who married chose life- 
partners who were in perfect accord with the Christian 
ideals upheld in the Pierson home. Of Dr. Pierson's 



312 



Later American Ministries 



children three volunteered for service in the foreign 
mission field, one entered home missionary work, and 
the others have given their spare time to city missions. 
All are active members of Christian churches and in 
their own homes seek to carry out the principles and 
practices instilled in them by their early training. 
These children testify to the incalculable blessing they 
received from the faithful adherence of their parents to 
lofty principles, from the prominence given to God as a 
real factor in daily life, from the insistence upon 
regular habits and the emphasis placed on faith, prayer, 
systematic giving and unselfish service. The regula- 
tions which were often irksome rules in childhood 
became bulwarks of character in maturity. 

Another noticeable feature of Dr. Pierson's influence 
in his family is seen in the unity prevailing among the 
children. At times, though they were scattered in Eu- 
rope, India, Japan, Central America, JSTew York, Phil- 
adelphia and Arizona, yet they always kept up regular 
correspondence with their parents and with each other, 
for harmony and sympathy prevailed unbroken. This 
unity is no doubt due to the Christocentric atmosphere 
in which they were brought up, and especially to the 
simultaneous prayer circles which at the father's sug- 
gestion were established in each home. 



XVII 



THE JUBILEE YEAE— A VISIT TO THE 
FEONTIEE 

FEW men live to see their lives rounded out to 
any degree of completeness. When the end 
comes they seem to have accomplished so little 
and frequently feel that they are just beginning to 
learn how to live. This was in some degree the feeling 
with which Dr. Pierson viewed his own life when he 
came to look back over the seventy-four years, which 
included a half century of public ministry. But his 
friends formed a different estimate of his career and 
the closing year marked, in a unique way, the comple- 
tion of a cycle of service, a fullness of testimony and an 
attainment of ideals that formed a fitting conclusion to 
his life. The divine plan stands out with wonderful 
clearness. 

Anniversaries were ever red-letter days in the Pierson 
calendar, and this closing year was singularly rich in 
such celebrations. In May, 1910, came the commemora- 
tion of Dr. Pierson's fifty years as a minister of Jesus 
Christ and in July he and his wife passed the golden 
mile-stone in their wedding journey. These jubilee 
celebrations presented a threefold opportunity, — for 
bearing witness to the loving faithfulness of God ; for 
tributes of affection and esteem from friends all over 
the world, and for reunions with family, with class- 
mates and with sympathetic fellow workers. During 
this last year, he also found opportunity to gather 

313 



3H 



The Jubilee Year 



together, in a jubilee volume, some of the results of his 
fifty years of Bible study. 1 Copies of this book he 
distributed freely to ministers, missionaries and other 
Christian workers all over the world. Finally, it was 
not until this last year of his pilgrimage that Dr. 
Pierson was able to pay his long desired visit to the 
distant mission fields and to come into personal contact 
with missionaries in the midst of their work. 

The fiftieth anniversary of his ordination as a minister 
of the Gospel was appropriately celebrated in the old 
Thirteenth Street Presbyterian Church, New York 
City, the church with which he had first united as a 
boy of fifteen and in which on May 13, 1860, he had 
been ordained to preach. His jubilee sermon was a 
striking utterance and was based on three Old Testa- 
ment texts : 

" And he went on his journeys from the south even 
to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the 
beginning ; . . . unto the place of the altar, which 
he had made there at the first : and there Abram 
called on the name of the Lord " (Genesis xiii. 3-4). 

" Let us arise, and go up to Bethel ; and I will make 
there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day 
of my distress, and was with me in the way which I 
went " (Genesis xxxv. 3). 

" And thou shalt remember all the way which the 
Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilder- 
ness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what 
was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep His 
commandments, or no " (Deuteronomy viii. 2). 

The speaker reviewed the way in which God had 
led him during his seventy-four years and emphasized 

1 This volume was published under the title "Knowing the Scrip- 
tures. ' ' 



An Anniversary Address 315 



again with increased earnestness the lessons that had 
been impressed upon him by his own experience and 
observation. He urged especially the importance of a 
right start and a true foundation : a Christian home life, 
a family altar, Christian education under consecrated 
teachers, an early confession of Christ, Sabbath observ- 
ance, a Christian marriage and a dominant purpose to 
serve God. Then, in his own graphic way, he went 
over the marvellous events, inventions and changes that 
had taken place during the preceding half century ; 
the progress in science and exploration, in religious and 
political reforms, and in missionary achievements. 

But the facts that impressed the speaker, even more 
forcibly than the scientific wonders of the century, 
were the gracious dealings of God with himself. The 
days of his pilgrimage had been approximately marked 
off into decades, each closing with some crisis or new 
experience : the first ten years ended with his departure 
from home ; the second were spent at school and college, 
from which he was graduated at the age of twenty ; 
during the third decade he was learning his first lessons 
in preaching and at its close he had gained a broader 
vision of the world and of his ministry through mis- 
sionary studies and through his first visit to Europe ; 
from 1867 to 1877 he had passed through his second 
period as a pastor and at the close of this decade came 
the burning of the Detroit church and his new experi- 
ence in evangelistic work ; the next ten years marked 
the climax of his pastoral work and ended with his 
visit to the World Missionary Conference in London, 
the publication of his " Crisis of Missions " and the 
acceptance of the editorship of The Missionary Review 
of the World ; from 1887 to 1897 he was engaged in 



316 The Jubilee Year 



his missionary crusades among the churches of Great 
Britain and America and in the last year he paid his 
first visit to Keswick ; the final full decade, 1897 to 
1907, was devoted to Bible lectures and addresses on 
the deepening of spiritual life. Thus in seventy years, 
step by step, he had been led through stages of prep- 
aration for the pastorate, for an evangelistic ministry, 
for missionary work, and finally for teaching, in ever 
widening circles, the deep spiritual truths concerning life 
and service. 

In fifty years of his ministry Dr. Pierson delivered 
over 13,000 sermons and addresses and wrote over 
fifty books, in addition to unnumbered tracts, poems, 
songs, booklets and articles for religious periodicals. 

But to discover the facts on which his own mind 
dwelt with greatest satisfaction in the retrospect of his 
life, we must turn to the pages of his private diary. 
There we read his review of the loving care with 
which God had surrounded him and some of the lessons 
that he had learned. 

" From my infancy," he wrote, " even in all my sins 
and wanderings, my unbelief and disobedience, my life 
has been marked by ceaseless gracious interpositions of 
God. When I first left home and entered boarding- 
school, He sought me and turned my youthful steps 
into the way of life. Then during my college and 
seminary years He supplied all my needs and three times 
when I have felt led to resign my pastorate, without 
knowing from whence the support for my family was 
to come, He bountifully cared for us so that we lacked 
no good thing. . . . He has taught me with infinite 
patience to be 'anxious for nothing.' 

" In times of spiritual trouble He has fortified me 



A Stirring Testimony 317 



with His promises and has never left me nor forsaken 
me. Blessed be His holy Name forever and ever ; how 
could I have ever doubted Him. . . . How gra- 
ciously He has led me into a clearer knowledge of Him- 
self and of His power to subdue evil temper and sordid 
ambition and other known sins ; 1 and how, in spite of 
my weakness and shortcomings, He has used my feeble 
efforts to serve Him." 

At a meeting which was held in his honour in the 
auditorium at the Northfleld Conference, August 13, 
1910, he delivered a remarkable address in which he 
told of God's leading and he repeated the rules and 
promises that had been tested in his own experience. 
In response to the tributes from William R. Moody, 
Dr. S. Edward Young and Eev. J. Stuart Holden he 
merely said : 

" A man can receive nothing except it be given him 
from above," and he quoted the words of St. Paul, " It 
is not expedient for me to glory . . . but I will 
come to visions and revelations of the Lord " (2 Cor. 
xii. 1). He then mentioned four Scripture texts which 
had greatly influenced his life. 

1. " Psalm i. 1, 2 — ' Blessed is the man that walketh 
not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the 
way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful ; 
but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law 
doth he meditate day and night.' This is the sole secret 
of prosperity and peace : Meditate in the Word of God 
and take delight in it. In more than fifty years of 
study I have only begun to understand it. 

1 The volumes that reveal Dr. Pierson's belief as to the Soriptural 
teaching on holy living are entitled : "Shall We Continue in Sin"? 
" Godly Self-Control " ; " His Holiness " and " A Spiritual Clinique." 



3>8 



The Jubilee Year 



2. " Proverbs iii. 6 — 4 In all thy ways acknowledge 
Him and He shall direct thy paths.' Since the time 
when my father first gave me that text when I was a 
boy leaving home, it has been a principle in my life — 
never to make a plan without first seeking God's guid- 
ance and never to achieve a success without giving Him 
the praise. 

3. " Matthew vi. 33—-* Seek ye first the kingdom 
of God and His righteousness and all these things shall 
be added unto you.' This promise has been wonderfully 
fulfilled in my experience. Whenever I have taken a 
step on faith, and have sought to devote myself primarily 
to the advancement of God's interests, He has seen to 
it that I and my family have lacked nothing. I have 
made it a practice never to put a price on my services, 
and yet, even during the last twenty years, when I 
have received no stated salary, there has never been 
any lack. On the contrary I have been able to give 
away more money than ever before. 

4. " John vii. 7 — ' If any man will do His will, he 
shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or 
whether I speak of myself.' There is no need of skep- 
ticism or unbelief or doubt. Any man who is willing 
to do God's will can know and the only way to know is 
to will to do. After more than fifty years of closest 
study, observation and experience, I can testify that it 
pays to he a follower of God." 

As he reached this climax, there was a note of assur- 
ance and of triumph in the voice that sent a thrill of 
conviction through his hearers. None who were present 
that morning will forget the power of his testimony to 
the faithfulness of God, or the earnestness with which 
he pleaded with each one in the audience to hold noth- 
ing in reserve but to make a full surrender to the gra- 
cious, covenant-keeping God. 

The golden anniversary of Dr. and Mrs. Pierson's 



The Golden Wedding 319 



marriage was celebrated at their summer home in 
Northfield, on July 12th, and was a joyous reunion. 
The happy bride and groom of fifty summers were sur- 
rounded by children and grandchildren and never was 
there a more united family circle than that which met 
on the hillside, and with poems, gifts and loving words 
paid their tributes of .devotion. To many of their earth- 
wide circle of friends, Dr. Pierson sent a message of 
love with the following verses which he wrote for the 
occasion : 

" With fifty years of wedded Love and Life 
Our Father God has crowned us — Husband, Wife. 
Five daughters aud two sons our Home have blest ; 
One only — dear Louise — yet called to Eest. 
For all these golden years and sunlit ways 
We ask our friends to join our hymn of praise ; 
No gifts we crave so much as priceless Love, 
And prayers in our behalf to God above : 
That if, a while, His Grace prolongs our stay, 
His Pillar may direct our pilgrim way ; 
Then bid us welcome to His Home on high 
Where Love is throned and Joy can never die. 
Blessed indeed, from Sin and Death made free, 
In Heaven to keep The Golden Jubilee ! " 

The reunions of this closing year were many and 
they were singularly complete. Friends and loved 
ones with whom Dr. Pierson had not met for years 
were brought together to celebrate his anniversaries. 
There were not only family gatherings but there were 
luncheons with classmates, dinners with honoured 
yokefellows in the world's work, and visits with boy- 
hood chums. Each occasion was a time of rejoicing 
and was seized upon by Dr. Pierson as an opportunity 
to testify again to the goodness of God. 

These anniversaries and reunions also presented a 



3 2 ° 



The Jubilee Year 



fitting occasion for friends far and near to express 
to Dr. Pierson their love and debt of gratitude for his 
faithful ministries — tributes that are too often only 
" post-mortem praises." Letters, telegrams, and gifts 
poured in upon him from every land under the sun and 
filled his heart with thanksgiving, while at the same 
time they humbled him, as he confessed to his own 
failures and gave God the glory for success. 

Another spontaneous tribute was paid to Dr. Pierson 
one Sunday afternoon in the summer of this closing 
year when he had consented to address a meeting at 
the West Twenty-third Street Branch of the Young 
Men's Christian Association, New York. The audito- 
rium was crowded with men when the secretary intro- 
duced the speaker by saying : "It may not be known 
to many of you that Dr. Pierson was one of the origi- 
nal one hundred young men who formed the first 
Young Men's Christian Association in New York City, 
and he is now the oldest living founder in America." 

Instantly the entire audience sprang to their feet 
and for some minutes their applause, which shook the 
building, could not be restrained. " At last," said one 
who was present, " the grand old gentleman, blushing 
like a schoolboy at the unexpected tribute, arose and 
tried to speak but could not and, after a courtly bow, 
sat down until he could control himself to begin his 
address." 

Another highly appreciated message came several 
months later from the General Assembly of the Pres- 
byterian Church, in session at Atlantic City, the church 
in which he had laboured for thirty-five years, and from 
which he had been unwillingly separated for a decade 
and a half. The telegram of greeting read : 



Message from the General Assembly 32 1 

" The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church 
in the United States of America, at the close of a ses- 
sion devoted to Foreign Missions, sends you affection- 
ate greetings, and expresses its gratitude to God for 
the service you have been enabled to render by voice 
and pen towards the world-wide extension of the Re- 
deemer's Kingdom. We beseech the Great Head of 
the Church that He will grant you the richest comforts 
of His grace, and if it be His will, will give you resto- 
ration of strength for further labours in the Gospel. 
We salute you in the spirit of Romans viii. 28-31." 

This resolution was followed in the Assembly by a 
prayer offered by Robert E. Speer, in which he said : 

" Our Father, we come to Thee in prayer and love 
for one who many years ago, seeing the carelessness and 
indifference of the Church, saw also a great vision and 
raised a prophetic voice for the extension of Thy king- 
dom. . . . We thank Thee for his godly life and 
world-wide sympathies. Give him, we pray Thee, at 
this eventide of life, the peace which Thou alone canst 
give. Spare his life, if it please Thee, to serve Thee 
yet in Thy Vineyard. If this be not Thy will, we pray 
that his mantle may fall on some others who shall yet 
come after him. . . . May there be a long line 
raised up, with a yet larger vision, who will give their 
simple trust and loyal service to his Lord and ours." 

In the midst of congratulations and rejoicings attend- 
ant on his anniversaries, Dr. Pierson remembered the 
things that were behind not as attainments but as 
causes for thanksgiving and he looked forward, with 
unspeakable longing, to further years of service. " If 
I could only begin life over again with my present 
knowledge of God how different it could be made," he 
would often say. "What wood, hay and stubble 



322 



The Jubilee Year 



would be left out of the building, and how much more 
of gold, silver and precious stones might be put into 
the structure : I pray God that I may be spared to 
finish the work He has given me to do." 

This prayer was partially answered in the opportu- 
nity that came at last to visit the foreign mission field. 
It was a fitting close for his earthly pilgrimage. After 
preaching all summer in New York and Philadelphia, 
speaking frequently to his beloved Mount Hermon 
students and delivering the post-conference addresses 
at Northfield on "Spiritual Disease and Spiritual 
Health," Dr. Pierson prepared to fulfill his lifelong 
ambition to visit the Far East that he might see for 
himself the work of Christian missions. For the first 
time in his life this tour had been made possible, in the 
providence of God, by the generous gifts of friends. 
Enfeebled health alone stood in the way, but this had 
never yet been permitted to be a barrier to service. 
Moreover the journey could now be taken in company 
with friends who were on their way to China, and 
other considerations seemed to outweigh the question 
of health. Even the physicians hoped that a change of 
scene and new experiences might diminish rather than 
increase bodily discomforts. The money that had been 
put into his hands — as a jubilee offering — also opened 
a coveted door of opportunity to help meet the needs 
that he might see on the field. After much thought 
and prayer he decided to make the journey and on the 
nineteenth of October, with his wife and daughter and 
their friends, Mr. and Mrs. Ealph Walker, of Leicester, 
England, Dr. Pierson sailed from Vancouver for Japan. 

The journey across the Pacific was unusually rough 
so that when the party reached Yokohama it was 



Wonderful Days in Japan 323 

found that Dr. Pierson was unable to follow the 
full program made out for him by his missionary 
daughter, Mrs. Curtis. He was not ready, however, to 
give up doing the work for which he had come. Mere 
sightseeing had little attraction for him and whenever 
he was asked to visit some celebrated place he refused' 
unless it was closely associated with the problem of 
reaching non-Christian peoples or had to do with the 
work of the missionaries. "I am here for one pur- 
pose," he would say, " and have no time or strength for 
anything else." 

All that he saw interested him intensely and in spite 
of the fatigue that resulted from travel and speaking 
he would not give up. One morning after delivering 
an address at the Methodist school in Aoyama he rode, 
several miles to visit the Great Asakusa Temple. 
Here he saw, for the first time in his life, people ac- 
tually engaged in the worship of idols. He longed for 
the " gift of tongues " that he might speak to them in 
their own language of the true God and only Saviour. 
When he returned to the mission he was prostrated, 
but he only said: "It has been a wonderful day." 
The vision of coming victory awakened by the sight 
of the Christian school in contrast to the idol temple 
made him unmindful of the suffering he endured. 
In Kyoto he also visited the Honywanji Temple of 
which he had often read and about which he had 
written. It seemed a strange anomaly to him that 
the party of Christians were obliged to remove their 
shoes on entering this idol shrine, as though they were 
treading on holy ground. 

As he came into touch with the missionaries he was 
moved by the evidences of their consecration and noble 



3 2 4 



The Jubilee Year 



self-denial and longed to be able to help them in their 
great work. After visiting some of the schools and 
hospitals and churches he wrote home : 

"Contact with these missionaries has given me a 
clearer conception of the work than forty years of study 
at home. We find here enterprises of the triumphantly 
successful sort, where one additional worker, or a gift 
of five hundred dollars, would double or treble the ef- 
ficiency and the results. If some generous givers 
from home could only get a glimpse of the work and 
its needs they could not withhold the money. We 
feel constantly moved to strip ourselves of all that 
can be spared and to study the closest economy in or- 
der that we may invest all we have in enterprises that 
will pay thirty, sixty, or a hundred fold." 

Wherever he went he made it his first business to 
inquire as to the greatest needs of the work and it was 
one of the crowning joys of his life to be able to use 
funds intrusted to him to relieve and cheer the bur- 
dened workers. Daily, in his weakness he prayed for 
the coming of the kingdom of God in these lands and 
in his hours of pain would sometimes exclaim : " This 
journey is worth all that it has cost me. How gracious 
of God to permit me to see this work about which 
I have read and spoken for fifty years and to give some 
help where it is so much needed." 

At Kyoto he visited the Doshisha University and 
the hospital and church of Dr. Saiki, a Japanese 
Christian who had been connected with his church in 
Philadelphia. The physicians had ordered Dr. Pierson 
to give up speaking and sightseeing, but when he 
learned that the new Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tion building had been completed and that he was in- 



A Visit to Korea 



325 



vited to speak at a dinner in honour of the event, he 
felt that he must rise up and go in order to represent 
his friend the donor, John Wanamaker. 

Whenever possible he rejoiced in the opportunity of 
speaking to the missionaries and native Christians. 
Once when urged to spare himself he replied : "I might 
decline this service in any other cause, but here is one 
way in which I can have a share in the sufferings of 
Christ." Such thoughts sustained him even when he 
was racked with pain or harassed by doubt as to God's 
will and his own duty. 

After a month in Japan he journeyed to Korea and 
remained in Seoul for six weeks. Here he spoke through 
an interpreter in one of the churches and arranged for 
a series of daily Bible readings with the missionaries. 
But the strain was too great. The physicians forbade 
any more public speaking and sent him to the Severance 
Hospital. Dr. Pierson found it difficult to submit and 
declared emphatically : " I have come ten thousand 
miles to do this work and now you tell me I must not. 
< I would rather die than sit down here and give up the 
idea of delivering the message God has given me." 
The physicians were perplexed, for they realized that 
the results of enforced idleness might be even more 
serious than the strain of public speaking. They finally 
limited him to two addresses a week and new power 
seemed to be given him as he spoke to the missionaries 
on the " Names of Christ." Into these farewell messages 
he put all the ardour of his soul as he explained the 
character and mission of the Living Word, the Eternal 
Son of God, the Merciful Saviour of Man. 

One Sunday afternoon, when he was in such pain that 
he reluctantly gave up meeting the missionary com- 



326 



The Jubilee Year 



munity, his son-in-law, Eev. Frederick S. Curtis, asked 
if he had any message to send. With much effort at 
first he began to dictate a few words, but as he went on 
vitality seemed to return and the Word of God became 
a "fire in his bones." This farewell address on 
"Heavenly Visions" (Acts xxvi. 19) greatly stirred 
the hearts of those who heard it. 1 

When the physicians finally told him that it would 
be impossible to carry out his program of visiting 
China and India, the thought of abandoning the tour 
caused him intense suffering. He fought day and 
night against what he considered must be unbelief in 
himself that prevented victory over every obstacle. 
" What am I thinking of to lie here and calmly die ? " 
he exclaimed. " I am playing the part of a fool." With 
admiration the physician afterwards remarked : " What 
an old war-horse ! What an unconquerable spirit ! " 

Dr. Pierson finally consented to turn his face 
homeward, but he was sustained by the thought that 
he might there regain strength to complete his mission- 
ary tour by travelling eastward. He also hoped that in 
America he might be able to tell of some of the wonders 
he had seen. He had come to know many missionaries 
and some Japanese and Korean Christians and as he 
saw and heard of the apostolic character of the Korean 
church, their faith, their self-sacrificing spirit and their 
hunger for Bible study, he determined to enlist the 
cooperation of friends at home in the effort to establish 
Bible schools in that land. 2 

1 See Missionary Review of the World, September, 1911. 

2 This he was not able to do personally, but friends have undertaken 
to establish in Seoul an interdenominational Bible school to be known 
as the "Arthur T. Pierson Memorial Bible School." 



Homeward Bound 327 

After three months on the mission field, the travellers 
turned their faces homeward. Many times there were 
physical crises which a man of less energy and less 
faith could not have survived. A few days before the 
party sailed from Kobe the physicians declared that the 
patient might not even live to reach Hawaii ; but he 
rallied and landed in San Francisco in better condition 
than when he had left Japan. 

Though prevented from continuing his journey and 
unable longer to fill public engagements, he was not 
ready to give up the fight. The closing weeks of his 
life were to the end made up of days of service, and of 
thought for others. His last birthday was celebrated 
in Los Angeles, where he was cared for in the home of 
Rev. Thomas C. Horton, formerly an associate pastor 
in Bethany Church. A birthday party of members of 
the family had been planned to brighten his sick-room, 
and after he had spent three hours in the morning dic- 
tating Bible study notes to a stenographer he busied 
himself during the afternoon in writing bright, loving 
and humorous verses for each member of the house- 
hold. 

Even on his sick bed, when the physicians gave no 
hope of his recovery, his sense of humour did not for- 
sake him. He joked with his attendants and frequently 
called on his son-in-law for amusing readings and 
recitations. One morning, after a night of alarming 
weakness and pain, he said to his daughter, who was 
helping him make his toilet : " Helen, an effusive 
woman in my congregation used to tell me that when 
I was preaching she could see a heavenly light on my 
face. Be careful not to wash it off." 

A few weeks before he was called Home, the heav- 



3 i8 



The Jubilee Year 



enly Father gave His servant strength to make the jour- 
ney eastward from Los Angeles to his Brooklyn home 
where he could again gather all of his children and 
grandchildren around him. As they met for prayer 
and conference, he rejoiced in the reunion and in the 
ministries of loved ones. Soon he was to join also his 
only absent daughter and his parents in the Father's 
House. 

In the providence of God Dr. Pierson's mental and 
spiritual faculties were unclouded to the last and his sick 
bed was a place of continued ministry. When he could 
no longer speak to groups he talked with individuals and 
led them into more intimate fellowship with his Mas- 
ter. The doctors and specialists who were called in for 
brief consultations and the attendants who ministered 
to his physical needs were ministered to by him in 
spiritual things and testified to the blessing received 
from even a brief contact with him. All were im- 
pressed by his unwavering faith, his zeal for service and 
his love for the things of Christ. To the end he was 
able to prepare editorials for the Missionary Review 
of the World and to write devotional Bible studies 
for the Record of Christian Work. Only a day or 
two before his final departure he was correcting the 
printer's proofs that were published two months later. 

Dr. Pierson neither feared nor courted the thought of 
death. It was to him the gate of entrance to the pres- 
ence of the King, but it meant also the abandonment 
of work which he dearly loved and which he had no 
desire to relinquish. His earnest wish was to regain 
strength and when scarcely able to stand, he would in- 
sist upon walking that his muscles might not lose their 
power. Nevertheless he was ready to go if the Master 




THE BROOKLYN HOME OF ARTHUR T. PIERSON 
His residence from 1895 to 1911. It was here that he passed away. 



Comments on Death 329 



called. One day, in Los Angeles, when he had ex- 
perienced a sinking spell from which he feared he 
might not rally he asked Mr. Curtis to read to him 
from Revelation xiv. 13 : " And I heard a voice from 
heaven saying, Write, Blessed are the dead which die 
in the Lord from henceforth ; yea, saith the Spirit, that 
they may rest from their labours ; for their works shall 
follow with them." 

He then commented concerning his own exodus on 
these words from which he had preached the funeral 
service of Charles H. Spurgeon : 

"Blessed are the dead — this is the only time after 
Christ's resurrection that the term 4 death ' is applied 
to believers. But the further expression, that die in the 
Lord, gives a wonderful modification of the thought. 
They are said to 4 rest from their labours ' and that 
'their works shall follow with them,' — as the Greek 
indicates : to go as a companion. 4 Labours ' are here 
contrasted with 4 works.' Labours mean toil, 4 works' 
mean blessed activity. Rest is given from all vexa- 
tious toils but all joyous activities go with them. I be- 
lieve that if I 4 die in the Lord ' I shall leave behind me 
all vexatious trials, but that all gracious activities will 
go with me. I expect to go to more active service. 
I have a desire to depart and be with Christ but I 
also have a desire to abide in the flesh because of the 
needs I see for work in God's kingdom. . . . 

44 1 think I may soon be going to my Father's House 
and if I am taken I wish to be laid away where I fall. 
I desire no encomiums, only the simple reading of God's 
Word and prayer. Should anything be said, let it be 
only this, that to the last I gave a faithful testimony 
to the love and power and faithfulness of God. Let 



330 The Jubilee Year 

there be no mourning, nothing but rejoicing that I have 
been called to higher service." 

During the last days of his illness, when fever, pain 
and weakness prostrated the body, and when he could 
not even converse, verses of Scripture and prayer were 
almost continually on his lips. The words most fre- 
quently repeated expressed the longing of his soul, 
" That we might be partakers of His holiness " (Hebrew 
xii. 10). In the circumstances of his Home-going, the 
mercy of God was manifested, for there were no pain- 
ful words of parting and no hurried commissions. 
Twenty-four hours before the final call came he sank 
into a semi-stupor from which he did not rally, and on 
June 3, 1911, at a little before 8 a. m. he fell asleep 
in Christ. The abiding expression on his face, after 
the spirit had taken flight, was one of peace and joy. 

The morning after Dr. Pierson's decease, his little 
six-year-old grandson and namesake, who had not yet 
heard of his loss, crept into his mother's bed and said : 
" Mother, I had such a beautiful dream last night. I 
dreamed that I saw steps going up into heaven. It 
was all gold up there. Oh, it was very beautiful, 
mother." 

" Did you see any one you knew ? " his mother asked. 

" Yes, I saw the Lord Jesus." 

" Did you see any one else you knew ? " 

" No, I don't think so, mother." 

" But some one did go up yesterday into heaven to 
be with the Lord J esus. Some one whom you love and 
who loves you very much." 

" Who was it, mother — was it — was it grandpa ? " 

All day the little fellow was happy in telling friends 
that his grandfather had gone to heaven on the golden 



Entrance Into Life 



33 1 



steps of his dream. So the vision seemed to those who 
were left behind. The sting of death was taken away 
in the certainty of life in Christ and all felt the peace 
that came to the heart of the little child in the thought 
that the beloved one had entered heaven by the " new 
and living way," after a life brought to completion ac- 
cording to the plan of God. 

The funeral services were held in the Bedford Pres- 
byterian Church, Brooklyn, New York, in the presence 
of a hushed and crowded assembly. These services 
were conducted by intimate friends 1 and were an ap- 
propriate testimony to the triumphal ending of Dr. 
Pierson's earthly life and labours and in harmony with 
his wish. The opportunity was taken not to extol the 
servant but ~fco praise his Master. Dr. S. Edward 
Young, the pastor of the church, presided, Dr. John 
F. Carson read appropriate passages of Scripture and 
Dr. Wilson Phraner, then in his ninetieth year, offered 
prayer. The congregation joined in the hymns " Jesus, 
Lover of My Soul" and " When I Survey the Wondrous 
Cross," and Mrs. W. K. Moody sang "Moment by Mo- 
ment " and " Out of my Bondage, Sorrow and Mght, 
: Jesus, I Come." A missionary message was given by 
Eobert E. Speer and a brief address on the " Word of 
God," by Dr. J. H. Jowett who had recently arrived 
from England to become pastor of the Fifth Avenue 

1 The honourary pall-bearers were also intimate friends and sym- 
pathizers— Rev. Cleland B. McAfee, D. D., Pastor of the Lafayette 
(Avenue Presbyterian Chnrch, Brooklyn ; Rev. Henry W. Frost, of 

I Philadelphia, Home Director of the China Inland Mission ; Rev. 
Charles R. Erdman, D. D., of Prinoeton Theological Seminary; Rev. 
John McDowell, of Newark ; Mr. Ralph L. Cutter and Mr. Frank H. 
Marston, of Brooklyn, Mr. William R. Moody, of East Northfield, 
Massachusetts, and Mr. Alwyn Ball, Jr. , of Rutherford, New Jersey. 



332 The Jubilee Year 



Presbyterian Church, New York. In his address 
Dr. Jowett commented on the parable of the wedding 
garment and said : " To the eyes of the heavenly spirits 
that look on this scene this service may be not a funeral 
but a wedding and the appropriate dress may be not a 
robe of mourning but a garment of praise ; if so I am 
sure that our departed friend would rejoice." This 
was the key-note of the day — the note of triumph was 
dominant. 

Henry W. Frost, Director of the China Inland Mis- 
sion, one of the pall-bearers, voiced the feeling of the 
assembled friends when he wrote of the services : " The 
funeral was unlike any other I have ever attended. 
Praise seemed to be uppermost in thought and expres- 
sion. How could it have been otherwise when the 
course had been so well run and the fight had been so 
nobly fought ? Jesus Christ was magnified in life and 
in death." 

All that was mortal was laid to rest quietly in Green- 
wood Cemetery and above the spot, where the body 
awaits the resurrection day, stands a permanent mes- 
sage in stone. It is a simple granite shaft on which 
rests a globe showing the countries of the world and 
in front is an open Bible on which are carved the 
Scripture verses which voice the Great Commission and 
the basis for hope of Eternal Life : 

11 Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel 
to every creature " (Mark xvL 15). 

u God hath given to us Eternal Life and this life 
is in His Son " (1 John v. IT). 

So passed one of God's earthly warriors. Clad in 
the whole armour of God, he had wrestled for over 




A MESSAGE IN STONE 
Model of the Monument in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York 



The Course Completed 



seventy years, not against flesh and blood, but against 
principalities and powers and against spiritual wicked- 
ness in high places. Having fought a good fight, he 
finished his course, he kept the faith. Henceforth 
there is laid up for him a crown of righteousness, which 
the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to him in that 
day ; — and not to him only but unto all them also that 
love His appearing. 1 

1 Ephesians vi. 10-12 and 2 Timothy iv 7-8. 



THE END 



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Treatment Date: May 2006 

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A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 
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